contempt 
Constructive contempt, In law, a contempt not com- 
mitted in the presence of the court, but tending to ob- 
struct justice ; that which amounts in the eye of the law 
to contempt, irrespective of whether the act was really 
and intentionally performed as a contempt. Criminal 
contempt, a wilful disobedience or disorder in defiance 
of the court, as distinguished from a disobedience merely 
hinderin" the remedy of a party. Direct contempt, a 
contempt committed in the presence of the court, or so 
1224 
A proud, contemptuous behaviour. 
Hammond, Works, IV. 607. 
content 
Pale 
Rome . . . 
of the Jews. 
The University 
' 
entertained the most contemptuous opinion 
Bp. Atterbury. 
. acknowledged the receipt of the 
With conflict of contending hopes and fears. 
(.'tiirper, The Task, i. 668. 
2. Clashing; opposing; conflicting; rival: as, 
contending claims or interests. 
Ulc 1'11IC1O1LJ . . . mvma*. r . ... a / \ 
king's letter in a most contemptuous way, forwarding their contendreSS (kon-ten dres), n. 
letter of thanks by a bedell. 
Stubbs, Medieval and Modern Hist., p. 5. 
jt commltceu in uie IOTWHBOB ui uw i,uuiv, ^i . 
near to it as to interrupt the proceedings, in which case 2. Apt to despise; contumelious, naughty, m- 
punishment may be administered summarily, upon the 
view and personal knowledge of the judge, without taking 
evidence. In contempt, in law, in the condition of a 
person who has committed a contempt of court and has not 
purged himself : such a person is not entitled to proceed 
in the cause generally, but only to make such application 
as may be necessary to defend his strict right. = Syn. 1. 
Derision, mockery, contumely, neglect, disregard, slight. 
See scorn, r. 
contemptfult (kon-tempfful), a. [< contempt 
+ -fill, 1.] Full of contempt; despicable; con- 
temptible; disgraceful. 
The stage and actors are not so contemptful 
As every innovating puritan 
Would have the world imagine. 
Chapman, Revenge of Bussy d'Ambois, i. 1. 
Contemptibility (kon-temp-ti-biri-ti), n. [< 
LL. contemptibilita(t-)s, < contemptibilis, con- 
temptible: see contemptible.] The quality of 
being contemptible. 
Contemptibility and vanity. Speed, Edw. II., ix. 11. 
contemptible (kon-temp'ti-bl), a. [= Sp. con- 
s __ [< contender + 
A female contender. [Rare.] 
A swift contendress. Chapman. 
o'fpersoi contenement (kon-ten'e-ment), TO. [< eon- + 
aiuoi [sum). ^ _ j drous harsh tenement.] In law, that which is connected 
ren"e and^pHe '' with a tenement or thing holden, as a certain 
Milton, s. A., 1. 1462. portion of land adjacent to a dwelling necessary 
f. Worthy of contempt; contemptible. to its reputable enjoyment 
And, to declare a contemptuoute chaunge from religion Content! (kon-tenf ) and . [< ME .content 
supersticion againe, the prestes had sodainly set up all < OF. content, F. content = Sp. Pg. It. Contento, 
< L. contentus, satisfied, content, prop. pp. ot 
continere, hold in, contain: see contain.] I. 
Bp. Bale, The Vocacion. 
Those abject and contemptuous wickednesses. 
Questions of Profitable and Pleasant Cancernings. 
= Syn. Disdainful, supercilious, cavalier, contumelious, 
contemptuously (kon-temp'tu-us-li), ode. ^In r epineor object; willing; contented; resigned. 
a. Literally, held or contained within limits; 
hence, having the desires limited to present 
enjoyments; satisfied; free from tendency to 
i>mina /vi* f^T/i-. willinG*! r*r>Tit,AntA(] : rpsipTlpd. 
a contemptuous manner; 
dain; despitefully. 
The apostles and most eminent Christians were poor, 
and used contemptuously. Jer. Taylor, Holy Living. 
The surest way to make a man contemptible is to treat 
him contemptuously. 
B. Taylor, Lands of the Saracen, p. 104. 
One of a despised class contemptuously termed "the 
great unwashed." U. Spencer, Social Statics, p. 252. 
tcmptMe, now contentible = Pg. wntemptwel great unwashed." a. Spencer,** 
= It. contentibile, < LL. contemptibilis, < L. con- cpntemp^UOUSnessJkjm-temp tu-us-nes)^n. 
p. of contemnere,Aesi>ise: see contemn.] 
Having food and raiment, let us be therewith content. 
1 Tim. vi. 8. 
If ye'll be content wi' me, 
I'll do for you what man can dee. 
Leesome Brand (Child's Ballads, II. 344). 
He is content to be Auditor, where he only can speake, 
and content to goe away, and thinke himselfe instructed. 
Bp. Earle, Micro-cosmographie, A Modest Man. 
Content indeed to sojourn while he must 
Below the skies, but having there his home. 
F . ... .. Cowper, The Task, vi. 913. 
temptus,i>Tp. otcoHtemnere.aespise: seeconiemn.j Disposition to contempt; expression of con- content, non-content, or not content, words by which 
1 Worth v of contempt: meriting scorn or dis- tempt; insolence; scornfulness; contumelious- assent and dissent are expressed in the British House of 
ilj_. "".;-- vi- . i-i. ;,! * noca /UoHnin Lords, answering to the aye and no used in the House of 
n. A Middle English form of Commons. 
Among the Whigs there was some unwillingness to con- 
,.. r .-.,-, . , sent to a change. . . . But Devonshire and Portland de- 
Goldsmith, Good-natured Man, v. contend (kon-tend ), V. [= Ol . contendre = 
Sp. Pg. contender = It. contendere, contend, < 
L. contendere, stretch out, extend, strive after, 
contend, < com-, together, + tenders, stretch: 
see tend, and cf. attend, extend, intend, subtend. 
Hence contents, contention.'] I. intrans. 1. To 
strive; struggle in opposition or emulation: 
used absolutely, or with against or with, 
temptible. ~ A. Dobson, Int. to Steele, p. xxx. 
3. Held in contempt ; despised; neglected. 
Till length of years 
And sedentary numness craze my limbs 
To a contemptible old age obscure. 
Milton, S. A., 
temptus, 
1. Worthy ol : contempt; meriting scorn or ais- impi _ 
dain; despicable; mean: said of persons or ness; disdain, 
things. contenancet, 
Despised by all, I now begin to grow contemptible even countenance. 
to myself. Goldsmith, Good-natured Man, v. 
A most idle and contemptible controversy had arisen in 
France touching the comparative merit of the ancient and 
modern writers. Macaulay, Sir Win. Temple. 
2. Not worthy of consideration ; inconsider- 
able ; paltry ; worthless : generally used with 
a negative. 
His own part in the enterprise was by no means con- 
For never two such kingdoms did contend 
Without much fall of blood. Shak., Hen. V., i. 2. 
. 572. 
4f. Contemptuous : as, to have a contemptible 
opinion of one. [In this sense now avoided.] 
If she should make tender of her love, 'tis very possible 
he'll scorn it : for the man . . . hath a contemptible spirit. 
Shak., Much Ado, ii. 3. 
It contributed a good deal to confirm me in the con- 
temptible idea I always entertained of Cellarius. 
Gibbon, Misc.,V. 286. 
= Syn. 1. Contemptible, Despicable, Paltry, Pitiful, abject, 
base, worthless, sorry, low. Contemptible is unworthy 
of notice, deserving of scorn, for littleness or meanness ; 
it is generally not so strong as despicable, which always 
involves the idea of great baseness : as, a contemptible 
trick ; despicable treachery. Paltry and pitiful are ap- 
plied to things which from their insignificance hardly de- 
Berve to be considered at all : as, a paltry excuse ; a sum 
of money pitifully small. In pitiful, the pity seems to 
apply to the one foolish enough to offer, etc., the pitiful 
thing. Pitiful is often applied to persons. What is pal- 
try is of no consequence ; what is pitiful is absurdly un- 
equal to what it should be. See pitiful. 
All sublunary joys and sorrows, all interests which know 
a period, fade into the most contemptible insignificance. 
R. Hall, Death of Princess Charlotte. 
You found the Whig party . . . decent, at least in pro- 
fession ; left it despicable in utter shamelessness. 
W. Phillips, Speeches, p. 260. 
Turn your forces from this paltry siege, 
And stir them up against a mightier task. 
Shak., K. John, ii. 1. 
The one thing wholly or greatly admirable in this play 
is the exposition of the somewhat pitiful but not unpiti- 
able character of King Richard. 
Swinburne, Shakespeare, p. 38. 
contemptibleness (kon-temp'ti-bl-nes), n. The 
state of being contemptible, or of being de- 
spised ; meanness ; vileness. 
If Demosthenes, after all his Philippics, throws away 
his shield and runs, we feel the conteitiiitihlenexx of the 
contradiction. Lowell, Rousseau. 
Contemptibly (kon-temp'ti-bli), adv. 1. In a 
In ambitious strength I did 
Contend against thy valour. Shak., Cor., iv. 5. 
There may you see the youth of slender frame 
Contend u-ith weakness, weariness, and shame. 
Crabbe, Village. 
2. To endeavor ; use earnest efforts, as for the 
purpose of obtaining, defending, preserving, 
etc.: usually with for before the object striven 
after. 
Cicero him selfe doth contend, in two sondrie places, to 
expresse one matter with diuerse wordes. 
Afcham, The Scholemaster, p. 103. 
Beloved, . . . contend for the faith which was once de- 
livered unto the saints. Jude 3. 
All that I contend for is, that I am not obliged to set out 
with a definition of what love is. 
Sterne, Tristram Shandy, vi. 37. 
Two spirits of a diverse love 
Contend for loving masterdom. 
Tennyson, In Memoriam, cii. 
clared themselves content : their authority prevailed ; and 
the alteration was made. Macaulay, Hist. Eng., xx. 
= Syn. Content, Satisfied. See contentment. 
II. n. One who votes " content "; an assent- 
ing or affirmative vote. 
Supposing the number of contents and not-contents 
strictly equal in number and consequence, the possession, 
to avoid disturbance, ought to carry it. 
Burke, Act of Uniformity. 
content 1 (kon-tenf), v. t. [< OF. contenter, F. 
contenter =" Sp. Pg. contentar = It. contentare, 
< ML. contentare, satisfy, < L. contentus, satis- 
fied, content : see content^, a.] 1. To give con- 
tentment or satisfaction to; satisfy; gratify; 
appease. 
Beside contentinge me, yon shall both please and profit 
verie many others. Ascham, The Scholemaster, p. 20. 
Is the adder better than the eel, 
Because his painted skin contents the eye? 
Shak., T. of the S., iv. S. 
Troth says, of old the art of making plays 
Was to content the people. 
B. Jonson, Prol. to Epicoene. 
And no less would content some of them [his disciples], 
than being his highest Favourites and Ministers of State. 
Stillingjieet, Sermons, I. xii. 
2. Reflexively, to be satisfied. 
Do not content yourself -with obscure and confused ideas, 
when clearer are to be attained. Watts, Logic. 
The scientific school, as such, contents itself with criti- 
cism, and makes no affirmation in respect of religion. 
J. R, Seeley, Nat. Religion, p. 69. 
Syn. 1. Content, Satiate, etc. See^satisfy. 
3. To dispute earnestly; strive in debate; content 1 (kon-tenf), n. [< OF. contente, con- 
wrangle : as, the parties contend about trifles. 
They that were of the circumcision contended with him. 
Acts xi. 2. 
tent, contentment, < contenter, content: see con- 
tent^-, v.] 1. That state of mind which results 
from satisfaction with present conditions ; that 
The younger perswaded the souldiers that he was the degree of satisfaction which holds the mind in 
elder, and both contended which should die. 
Purchas, Pilgrimage, p. 321. 
II. trans. 1. To dispute; contest. [Bare.] 
When Carthage shall contend the world with Rome. 
Dryden, jEneid. 
And on the green contend the wrestler's prize. 
Dryden, jEneid. 
2. To assert; affirm; maintain: as, I contend 
that the thing is impossible. 
Edward III. [in urging his claim to the throne of France] 
. . . admitted that the French princess, who was his 
mother, could not succeed, but he contended that he him- 
self, as her son, was entitled to succeed his maternal grand- 
father. Maine, Early Law and Custom, p. 93. 
contemptible manner; meanly; in a manner contendent (kon-ten'dent), n. [= F. conten- 
deserving of contempt. 2f. Contemptuously. ( ] a nt = Sp. coniendiente"= Pg. It. contendente, < 
L. contenden(t-)s, ppr. of contendere, contend: 
see contend.] An antagonist or opposer ; a con- 
testant. 
See contemptible, 3. 
Anaides . . . stabs any man that speaks more contempt 
ibly of the scholar than he. 
peace, excluding complaint, impatience, or fur- 
ther desire ; contentment. 
'Tis better to be lowly born, 
And range with humble livers in content, 
Than to be perk'd up in a glistering grief, 
And wear a golden sorrow. 
Shale., Hen. VIII., ii. S. 
In all my life I have not seen 
A man, in whom greater contents have been, 
Than thou thyself art. 
Fletcher, Faithful Shepherdess, i. 3. 
Ask thon this heart for monument, 
And mine shall be a liirge content. Aird. 
A strange content and happiness 
Wrapped him around. 
William Morris, Earthly Paradise, II. 99. 
2. Acquiescence; submission. [Rare.] 
Their praise is still the style is excellent ; 
The sense, they humbly take upon content. 
Pope, Essay on Criticism, 1. 308. 
li.Jomon, Cynthia's Revels, ii. i. conten der (kon-ten 'der), . One who contends ; 3. That which is the condition of contentment ; 
ttnl AJ*rlV Vlli.1v fluent until*? <, ,,. . ^ J f _1_ 
c^nptibl^' baSCly ' a " Ct ' y ' V " ely> deapicably - See a combatant'; a disputer; a wrangler. 
COntemptUOUS (kon-temp'tu-us), a. [< L. as Those who see least into things, are usually the fiercest 
if *contemptiiosus,"< contemptus, contempt: see ^""tenders about them. Stillinyfleet, Sermons, II. vi. 
contempt.'] 1. Manifesting or expressing con- contending (kon-ten'ding), p. a. [Ppr. of con- 
tempt or disdain; scornful: said of actions or tend, v.] 1. Striving; struggling in opposition ; 
feelings: as, conteiii)ituouH language or manner, debating. 
desire; wish. 
So will I 
In England work your grace's full content. 
Shak., 2 Hen. VI., i. 3. 
4f. Compensation; satisfaction. 
Tell me what this is, I will give you any content foryour 
pains. Selden, Table-Talk, p. 42. 
