despise
/dɪˈspaɪz/
verb
Familiar
1.v.look down on with disdain
“He despises the people he has to work for”
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despise and despite differ by a single letter, buried far enough into the word to be easy to miss. despise means “look down on with disdain”. despite means “lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike”. despite is the more common of the two in everyday English.
/dɪˈspaɪz/
1.v.look down on with disdain
“He despises the people he has to work for”
/dɪˈspaɪt/
1.n.lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike
“he was held in contempt”
2.n.contemptuous disregard
“she wanted neither favor nor despite”
| despise | despite | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /dɪˈspaɪz/ | /dɪˈspaɪt/ |
| Said | di-SPAHYZ | di-SPAHYT |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| Letters | 7 | 7 |
| Parts of speech | verb | noun |
| Senses | 1 | 2 |
| How common | Familiar | Common |
| Synonyms | contemn, scorn, disdain | contempt, disdain, scorn |
Full entry for despise · Full entry for despite · More comparisons