May 15, 2008
Thursday, 15th May 2008 : Today's Word is ...
Contumelious
Pronunciation : fawrt & f�wr-t�y
1. having or showing an insulting, scornful or contemptuous attitude
2. rudeness or contempt arising from arrogance
3. relating to or characterized by verbal abuse
Middle English - contumelie - from Old French - from Latin contumlia - akin to contumx - insolent
assuming, assumptive, audacious, bold, boldfaced, brash, brazen, cheeky, familiar, forward, impertinent, impudent, insolent, malapert, nervy, overconfident, pert, presuming, presumptuous, pushy, sassy, saucy, smart
friendly, lovely
� Van Schuylight Suffolk-Jones--came out to his waiting motor-car, wrinkling a contumelious nostril, as usual, at the Italian renaissance sculpture of the soap palace's front elevation.
� Too often she betrayed this, by the undue vent she gave to a spiteful antipathy she had conceived against little Adele: pushing her away with some contumelious epithet if she happened to approach her; sometimes ordering her from the room, and always treating her with coldness and acrimony.
� contumeliously : Adverb
� contumeliousness : Noun
� contumely : Noun