vilipend
Verb
Verb Forms: vilipended, vilipending, vilipends
- To regard or treat as of little value or account; to belittle.
- belittle
- To treat (something) as inconsequential or worthless; to despise, to look down on.
- To express a disparaging opinion of; to slander or vilify.
Examples
- He chose not to vilipend his opponent’s small score, preferring to focus on his own strategy.
Origin / Etymology
From Middle English vilipenden (“to treat (something) as contemptible”) [and other forms], from Old French vilipender (modern French vilipender (“to condemn, despise, revile, scorn, vilipend, vilify”)), or its etymon Latin vilipendō, from vīlis (“cheap, inexpensive; base, mean, vile, worthless”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wes- (“to buy, sell”)) + pendō (“to hang, suspend; to weigh, weigh out; (figuratively) to consider, ponder”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pend- (“to stretch”)). The English word is cognate with Italian vilipendere (“to despise, scorn, vilipend”), Portuguese vilipendiar (“to vilify”), Spanish vilipendiar (“to vilify”).
Synonyms
deprecate, depreciate, abuse, asperse, assassinate, backbite, badmouth, belibel, belittle, besmirch, blaze, blemish, blot, calumniate, calumny, cloud, contemn, cut down, defame, demonize, denigrate, derogate, detract, discredit, disgrace, disparage, diss, forgab, infamize, lampoon, libel, malign, misprize, monster, reproach, revile, scandal, shit-talk, slag, slander, slight, spatter, speak ill of, stab, talk shit, talk shite, talk trash, torch, traduce, trash-talk, vilify, vilipend, vituperate
Scrabble Score: 14
vilipend: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordvilipend: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
vilipend: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary