overbearing suggests a tyrannical manner or an intolerable insolence.
an overbearing supervisor
supercilious implies a cool, patronizing haughtiness.
an aloof and supercilious manner
disdainful suggests a more active and openly scornful superciliousness.
disdainful of their social inferiors
Examples of disdainful in a Sentence
He looked at the waiter with a disdainful glare.
a disdainful attitude toward authority
Recent Examples on the WebGreer’s disdainful, stuck-up lines ooze out of Kidman’s mouth.—Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 25 Sep. 2024 As for the United States’ messianic mission, Trump is disdainful of the activist brand of democracy promotion embraced under American Exceptionalism 2.0.—Charles A. Kupchan, Foreign Affairs, 13 Feb. 2018 And in thinking about it, contemplate why members or the right in particular are so disdainful of tax withholding: the theoretically quiet (and automatic) nature of it somewhat shrinks the pain of paying taxes.—John Tamny, Forbes, 17 Aug. 2024 This rhetorical style is most likely to direct explicitly disdainful language at democracy itself.—Christopher Miller, The Conversation, 8 Aug. 2024 See all Example Sentences for disdainful
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'disdainful.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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