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Antonyms for contumely


Grammar : Noun
Spell : kon-too-muh-lee, -tyoo-; kuhn-too-muh-lee, -tyoo-; kon-tuhm-lee, -tyoom, -chuhm
Phonetic Transcription : ˈkɒn tʊ mə li, -tyʊ-; kənˈtu mə li, -ˈtyu-; ˈkɒn təm li, -tyum, -tʃəm



Definition of contumely

Origin :
  • late 14c., from Old French contumelie, from Latin contumelia "a reproach, insult," probably related to contumax "haughty, stubborn," from com-, intensive prefix (see com-), + tumere "to swell up" (see thigh).
  • The unhappy man left his country forever. The howl of contumely followed him across the sea, up the Rhine, over the Alps; it gradually waxed fainter; it died away; those who had raised it began to ask each other, what, after all, was the matter about which they had been so clamorous, and wished to invite back the criminal whom they had just chased from them. [Thomas Babington Macaulay, "Lord Byron," 1877]
  • noun insult
Example sentences :
  • For some time, he did not make a single convert, and gained nothing but contumely and abuse.
  • Extract from : « Self-Help » by Samuel Smiles
  • Poverty, contumely, indignities of all sorts, met him wherever he turned.
  • Extract from : « Christopher Columbus and His Monument Columbia » by Various
  • No more should the gallant beast he had bred be seized with contumely in the market-place.
  • Extract from : « The Wild Geese » by Stanley John Weyman
  • We shall not be cast aside in contumely and unblest after all we have suffered.
  • Extract from : « Mark Twain, A Biography, 1835-1910, Complete » by Albert Bigelow Paine
  • Where is an equal army of men to be found to invite the contumely of their own sex?
  • Extract from : « Despair's Last Journey » by David Christie Murray
  • Besides, what do you mean, by words of contumely from my lips?
  • Extract from : « Tancred » by Benjamin Disraeli
  • The language of contumely was exhausted in vain efforts to describe his baseness.
  • Extract from : « John Quincy Adams » by John. T. Morse
  • Garrison appealed to the master's heirs for redress, but was repelled with contumely.
  • Extract from : « The Negro and the Nation » by George S. Merriam
  • Ah Chun called for the manager and was treated with contumely.
  • Extract from : « The House of Pride » by Jack London
  • His requests and his warnings were alike treated with contumely.
  • Extract from : « The Discovery of America Vol. 1 (of 2) » by John Fiske.

Synonyms for contumely

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019