"condescension" meaning in English

See condescension in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

IPA: /kɑndiˈsɛnʃən/ [General-American], /kɒndiˈsɛnʃən/ [Received-Pronunciation] Forms: condescensions [plural]
Rhymes: -ɛnʃən Etymology: From Latin condēscēnsiō. Etymology templates: {{uder|en|la|condēscēnsiō|}} Latin condēscēnsiō Head templates: {{en-noun|-|s}} condescension (usually uncountable, plural condescensions)
  1. The act of condescending; a manner of behaving in an outwardly polite way that nevertheless implies superiority to another; patronizing courtesy toward inferiors. Tags: uncountable, usually Synonyms (the act of condescending): condescendence Translations (act of condescending): снизхожде́ние (snizhoždénie) [neuter] (Bulgarian), благоволе́ние (blagovolénie) [neuter] (Bulgarian), снизходи́телност (snizhodítelnost) [feminine] (Bulgarian), malaltiĝo (Esperanto), alentuminen (Finnish), condescendance [feminine] (French), Herablassung [feminine] (German), Kondeszendenz [feminine] (German), συγκαταβατικότητα (sygkatavatikótita) [feminine] (Greek), καταδεκτικότητα (katadektikótita) [feminine] (Greek), leereszkedés (Hungarian), снисходливост (snishodlivost) [feminine] (Macedonian), condescendência [feminine] (Portuguese), bunăvoință [feminine] (Romanian), amabilitate [feminine] (Romanian), condescendență [feminine] (Romanian), снисхожде́ние (snisxoždénije) [neuter] (Russian), благоволе́ние (blagovolénije) [neuter] (Russian), ми́лость (mílostʹ) [feminine] (Russian), снисходи́тельность (snisxodítelʹnostʹ) [feminine] (Russian), снисходљивост [Cyrillic, feminine] (Serbo-Croatian), snishodljivost [Roman, feminine] (Serbo-Croatian), nedlåtenhet (Swedish), kibir (Turkish)
    Sense id: en-condescension-en-noun-Jpr40H8Y Disambiguation of 'the act of condescending': 88 9 3 Disambiguation of 'act of condescending': 86 10 4
  2. (usually uncountable, derogatory) A patronizing attitude or behavior. Tags: derogatory, uncountable, usually Translations (patronizing attitude or behavior): alentuvuus (Finnish), protekcjonalizm [masculine] (Polish), protekcjonalność [feminine] (Polish)
    Sense id: en-condescension-en-noun-F9IqHItw Disambiguation of 'patronizing attitude or behavior': 6 92 3
  3. (archaic, non-derogatory) Courtesy, affability of a superior towards an inferior. Tags: archaic, uncountable, usually
    Sense id: en-condescension-en-noun--sc8hkNa Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English undefined derivations, Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with Bulgarian translations, Terms with Esperanto translations, Terms with Finnish translations, Terms with French translations, Terms with German translations, Terms with Greek translations, Terms with Hungarian translations, Terms with Macedonian translations, Terms with Polish translations, Terms with Portuguese translations, Terms with Romanian translations, Terms with Russian translations, Terms with Serbo-Croatian translations, Terms with Swedish translations, Terms with Turkish translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 32 18 50 Disambiguation of English undefined derivations: 19 22 59 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 20 8 73 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 28 9 62 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 27 5 68 Disambiguation of Terms with Bulgarian translations: 21 11 67 Disambiguation of Terms with Esperanto translations: 18 6 75 Disambiguation of Terms with Finnish translations: 21 11 67 Disambiguation of Terms with French translations: 19 8 73 Disambiguation of Terms with German translations: 19 9 72 Disambiguation of Terms with Greek translations: 17 20 63 Disambiguation of Terms with Hungarian translations: 17 19 63 Disambiguation of Terms with Macedonian translations: 20 11 69 Disambiguation of Terms with Polish translations: 26 12 62 Disambiguation of Terms with Portuguese translations: 20 10 70 Disambiguation of Terms with Romanian translations: 21 11 69 Disambiguation of Terms with Russian translations: 19 7 74 Disambiguation of Terms with Serbo-Croatian translations: 20 10 70 Disambiguation of Terms with Swedish translations: 21 11 68 Disambiguation of Terms with Turkish translations: 21 11 68
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Derived forms: uncondescension Related terms: condescend, condescending [adjective]

Inflected forms

Alternative forms

{
  "derived": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "uncondescension"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "condēscēnsiō",
        "4": ""
      },
      "expansion": "Latin condēscēnsiō",
      "name": "uder"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Latin condēscēnsiō.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "condescensions",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-",
        "2": "s"
      },
      "expansion": "condescension (usually uncountable, plural condescensions)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenation": [
    "con‧de‧scen‧sion"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "condescend"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "tags": [
        "adjective"
      ],
      "word": "condescending"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Conscious condescension breeds panderers and enemies, not friends.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, pages 27–28:",
          "text": "Mrs. Howard's fête at Marble Hill more than realised all expectations. The very spring put itself forward to please her; or, rather borrowed a day from summer. The king and queen were in the last extremities of royal condescension. It was enough to make domestic felicity the fashion from one end of the British empire to the other, just to see the august couple walking arm in arm through the gardens;...",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1911, Robert Ames Bennet, Out of the Primitive:",
          "text": "\"Unfortunate situation,\" she replied, making an effort to moderate her superciliousness to mere condescension.\"",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1912, Joseph Crosby Lincoln, The Depot Master:",
          "text": "\"Huh?\" he said. \"Pardon me, my dear sir,\" repeated the Major, blandly, smoothly, and with an air of – well, not condescension, but gracious familiarity.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1912, Joseph Crosby Lincoln, The Depot Master:",
          "text": "The shofer opens the door of the after cockpit of the machine, and the man gets out fust, treadin' gingerly but grand, as if he was doin' the ground a condescension by steppin' on it.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1914, George Washington Cable, The Amateur Garden:",
          "text": "We believe our Northampton garden competition tends to do this. It brings together in neighborly fellowship those whom the discrepancies of social accomplishments would forever hold asunder and it brings them together without forced equality or awkward condescension […]",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1917, Abraham Cahan, The Rise of David Levinsky:",
          "text": "He addressed me as Dave. (There was a note of condescension as well as of admiration in this \"Dave\" of his. It implied that I was a shrewd fellow and an excellent customer, singularly successful and reliable, but that I was his inferior, all the same – a Jew, a social pariah.)",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1919 May, William Stearns Davis, “The Roots of War”, in Century, pages 110–23:",
          "text": "The Berlin rulers did indeed make a serious attempt to conciliate local opinion by sending down for once a really humane and enlightened governor, Baron von Manteuffel. Manteuffel won the personal good will of the people he was sent to govern, but his very condescension raised against him enemies at home.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1921, Ben Travers, chapter 2, in A Cuckoo in the Nest, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1925, →OCLC:",
          "text": "Mother very rightly resented the slightest hint of condescension. She considered that the exclusiveness of Peter's circle was due not to its distinction, but to the fact that it was an inner Babylon of prodigality and whoredom,[…].",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1963, Morris West, The Shoes of the Fisherman:",
          "text": "How can I tell them that they must never expect too much from a middle-aged fellow in striped cotton pajamas? But tonight is different. There is a whole concourse of Romans and of tourists in the Piazza, and it would be a courtesy – excuse me, Holiness, a great condescension! – to appear with one small blessing.... I condescend, and I am exalted once again on wave after wave of cheering and horn-blowing",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The act of condescending; a manner of behaving in an outwardly polite way that nevertheless implies superiority to another; patronizing courtesy toward inferiors."
      ],
      "id": "en-condescension-en-noun-Jpr40H8Y",
      "links": [
        [
          "condescend",
          "condescend"
        ],
        [
          "polite",
          "polite"
        ],
        [
          "superiority",
          "superiority"
        ],
        [
          "patronizing",
          "patronizing"
        ],
        [
          "courtesy",
          "courtesy"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "_dis1": "88 9 3",
          "sense": "the act of condescending",
          "word": "condescendence"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "uncountable",
        "usually"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "86 10 4",
          "code": "bg",
          "lang": "Bulgarian",
          "roman": "snizhoždénie",
          "sense": "act of condescending",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "снизхожде́ние"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 10 4",
          "code": "bg",
          "lang": "Bulgarian",
          "roman": "blagovolénie",
          "sense": "act of condescending",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "благоволе́ние"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 10 4",
          "code": "bg",
          "lang": "Bulgarian",
          "roman": "snizhodítelnost",
          "sense": "act of condescending",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "снизходи́телност"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 10 4",
          "code": "eo",
          "lang": "Esperanto",
          "sense": "act of condescending",
          "word": "malaltiĝo"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 10 4",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "act of condescending",
          "word": "alentuminen"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 10 4",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "act of condescending",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "condescendance"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 10 4",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "act of condescending",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "Herablassung"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 10 4",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "act of condescending",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "Kondeszendenz"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 10 4",
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "sygkatavatikótita",
          "sense": "act of condescending",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "συγκαταβατικότητα"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 10 4",
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "katadektikótita",
          "sense": "act of condescending",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "καταδεκτικότητα"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 10 4",
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "act of condescending",
          "word": "leereszkedés"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 10 4",
          "code": "mk",
          "lang": "Macedonian",
          "roman": "snishodlivost",
          "sense": "act of condescending",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "снисходливост"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 10 4",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "act of condescending",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "condescendência"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 10 4",
          "code": "ro",
          "lang": "Romanian",
          "sense": "act of condescending",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "bunăvoință"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 10 4",
          "code": "ro",
          "lang": "Romanian",
          "sense": "act of condescending",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "amabilitate"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 10 4",
          "code": "ro",
          "lang": "Romanian",
          "sense": "act of condescending",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "condescendență"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 10 4",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "snisxoždénije",
          "sense": "act of condescending",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "снисхожде́ние"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 10 4",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "blagovolénije",
          "sense": "act of condescending",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "благоволе́ние"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 10 4",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "mílostʹ",
          "sense": "act of condescending",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "ми́лость"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 10 4",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "snisxodítelʹnostʹ",
          "sense": "act of condescending",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "снисходи́тельность"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 10 4",
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "act of condescending",
          "tags": [
            "Cyrillic",
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "снисходљивост"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 10 4",
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "act of condescending",
          "tags": [
            "Roman",
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "snishodljivost"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 10 4",
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "act of condescending",
          "word": "nedlåtenhet"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 10 4",
          "code": "tr",
          "lang": "Turkish",
          "sense": "act of condescending",
          "word": "kibir"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1935, George Cronyn, Fortune and Men's Eyes:",
          "text": "He's a snob of the first water and views the lower orders with infinite condescension.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1937, Percy Marks, And Points Beyond:",
          "text": "Tommy rarely entered the top social stratum where Tyckman moved by right of wealth and ancestry, but he had found the man pleasant and without condescension.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1941, Stephen Vincent Benet, The Devil and Daniel Webster:",
          "text": "Jabez rides through the fields on his sleek new horse, watching his neighbors harvest his crops. He shows a certain condescension toward them which is akin to arrogance.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1954, Chester Himes, Third Generation:",
          "text": "He was self-conscious about the brace and wore a jacket even on the hottest days. It held him abnormally erect. His face was tight from the discomfort and frustration. His posture was mistaken for a sign of arrogance, his expression for disdain and condescension.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1984, I.C. Jarvie, Rationality and Relativism:",
          "text": "What if the signals are confused and both the doctrines of respect for and condescension towards other moralities is preached?",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1989, William A. Henry III, “A Zany Redheaded Everywoman”, in Time, number 1989/12/08:",
          "text": "The greatest indignity of all, it generally turned out, was the chuckling condescension of her husband Ricky, played by her real-life husband and business partner Desi Arnaz. The confident king of the castle, he was always ready to teach Lucy a lesson.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1996 April 28, Jon Pareles, “POP VIEW; Can Rock Play to the Broadway Crowd?”, in New York Times:",
          "text": "But Broadway's longtime condescension to rock musicians meant that a generation or two of potential theater composers took its talents elsewhere.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1999 June 28, Paul Quinn-Judge, “Yeltsin's Fast-Break Generals”, in Time:",
          "text": "Yeltsin, meanwhile, was smarting at what he felt was Bill Clinton's condescension toward him.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2000, Paul Taylor, “TV's Political Profits”, in Mother Jones, volume 25, number 3, page 31:",
          "text": "CBS Morning News anchor Bryant Gumbel indulged in a bout of on-air condescension about the campaign. \"I stumbled upon Saturday's debate,\" he told viewers, \"and it seemed a rather sad show.\"",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2009 June 29, Nancy Gibbs, “Dads Are Dudes”, in Time, volume 173, number 25, page 56:",
          "text": "We talk about fathers like puppies tripping over their big paws, a portrait long mirrored in a culture in which Father Knows Least, from Fred Flintstone to Homer Simpson. We diminish with faint praise; dads still get points for returning children at the end of the day with all their limbs in place. But the more engaged fathers become, the more women have to reckon with what a true parenting partnership would look like. Maternal condescension only really took hold in the modern age, when we turned parenting into a profession with its own implicit peer-review boards and competitive frenzy.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A patronizing attitude or behavior."
      ],
      "id": "en-condescension-en-noun-F9IqHItw",
      "links": [
        [
          "derogatory",
          "derogatory"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(usually uncountable, derogatory) A patronizing attitude or behavior."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "derogatory",
        "uncountable",
        "usually"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "6 92 3",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "patronizing attitude or behavior",
          "word": "alentuvuus"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "6 92 3",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "patronizing attitude or behavior",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "protekcjonalizm"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "6 92 3",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "patronizing attitude or behavior",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "protekcjonalność"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "32 18 50",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "19 22 59",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English undefined derivations",
          "parents": [
            "Undefined derivations",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "20 8 73",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "28 9 62",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "27 5 68",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "21 11 67",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Bulgarian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "18 6 75",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Esperanto translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "21 11 67",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "19 8 73",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with French translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "19 9 72",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with German translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "17 20 63",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Greek translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "17 19 63",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Hungarian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "20 11 69",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Macedonian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "26 12 62",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Polish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "20 10 70",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Portuguese translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "21 11 69",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Romanian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "19 7 74",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Russian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "20 10 70",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Serbo-Croatian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "21 11 68",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Swedish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "21 11 68",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Turkish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Courtesy, affability of a superior towards an inferior."
      ],
      "id": "en-condescension-en-noun--sc8hkNa",
      "links": [
        [
          "Courtesy",
          "courtesy"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "non-derogatory",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(archaic, non-derogatory) Courtesy, affability of a superior towards an inferior."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "archaic",
        "uncountable",
        "usually"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/kɑndiˈsɛnʃən/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/kɒndiˈsɛnʃən/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɛnʃən"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "condescension"
  ],
  "word": "condescension"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English terms derived from Latin",
    "English uncountable nouns",
    "English undefined derivations",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Rhymes:English/ɛnʃən",
    "Rhymes:English/ɛnʃən/4 syllables",
    "Terms with Bulgarian translations",
    "Terms with Esperanto translations",
    "Terms with Finnish translations",
    "Terms with French translations",
    "Terms with German translations",
    "Terms with Greek translations",
    "Terms with Hungarian translations",
    "Terms with Macedonian translations",
    "Terms with Polish translations",
    "Terms with Portuguese translations",
    "Terms with Romanian translations",
    "Terms with Russian translations",
    "Terms with Serbo-Croatian translations",
    "Terms with Swedish translations",
    "Terms with Turkish translations"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "uncondescension"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "condēscēnsiō",
        "4": ""
      },
      "expansion": "Latin condēscēnsiō",
      "name": "uder"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Latin condēscēnsiō.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "condescensions",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-",
        "2": "s"
      },
      "expansion": "condescension (usually uncountable, plural condescensions)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenation": [
    "con‧de‧scen‧sion"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "condescend"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "adjective"
      ],
      "word": "condescending"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Conscious condescension breeds panderers and enemies, not friends.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, pages 27–28:",
          "text": "Mrs. Howard's fête at Marble Hill more than realised all expectations. The very spring put itself forward to please her; or, rather borrowed a day from summer. The king and queen were in the last extremities of royal condescension. It was enough to make domestic felicity the fashion from one end of the British empire to the other, just to see the august couple walking arm in arm through the gardens;...",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1911, Robert Ames Bennet, Out of the Primitive:",
          "text": "\"Unfortunate situation,\" she replied, making an effort to moderate her superciliousness to mere condescension.\"",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1912, Joseph Crosby Lincoln, The Depot Master:",
          "text": "\"Huh?\" he said. \"Pardon me, my dear sir,\" repeated the Major, blandly, smoothly, and with an air of – well, not condescension, but gracious familiarity.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1912, Joseph Crosby Lincoln, The Depot Master:",
          "text": "The shofer opens the door of the after cockpit of the machine, and the man gets out fust, treadin' gingerly but grand, as if he was doin' the ground a condescension by steppin' on it.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1914, George Washington Cable, The Amateur Garden:",
          "text": "We believe our Northampton garden competition tends to do this. It brings together in neighborly fellowship those whom the discrepancies of social accomplishments would forever hold asunder and it brings them together without forced equality or awkward condescension […]",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1917, Abraham Cahan, The Rise of David Levinsky:",
          "text": "He addressed me as Dave. (There was a note of condescension as well as of admiration in this \"Dave\" of his. It implied that I was a shrewd fellow and an excellent customer, singularly successful and reliable, but that I was his inferior, all the same – a Jew, a social pariah.)",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1919 May, William Stearns Davis, “The Roots of War”, in Century, pages 110–23:",
          "text": "The Berlin rulers did indeed make a serious attempt to conciliate local opinion by sending down for once a really humane and enlightened governor, Baron von Manteuffel. Manteuffel won the personal good will of the people he was sent to govern, but his very condescension raised against him enemies at home.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1921, Ben Travers, chapter 2, in A Cuckoo in the Nest, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1925, →OCLC:",
          "text": "Mother very rightly resented the slightest hint of condescension. She considered that the exclusiveness of Peter's circle was due not to its distinction, but to the fact that it was an inner Babylon of prodigality and whoredom,[…].",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1963, Morris West, The Shoes of the Fisherman:",
          "text": "How can I tell them that they must never expect too much from a middle-aged fellow in striped cotton pajamas? But tonight is different. There is a whole concourse of Romans and of tourists in the Piazza, and it would be a courtesy – excuse me, Holiness, a great condescension! – to appear with one small blessing.... I condescend, and I am exalted once again on wave after wave of cheering and horn-blowing",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The act of condescending; a manner of behaving in an outwardly polite way that nevertheless implies superiority to another; patronizing courtesy toward inferiors."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "condescend",
          "condescend"
        ],
        [
          "polite",
          "polite"
        ],
        [
          "superiority",
          "superiority"
        ],
        [
          "patronizing",
          "patronizing"
        ],
        [
          "courtesy",
          "courtesy"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "uncountable",
        "usually"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English derogatory terms",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English uncountable nouns"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1935, George Cronyn, Fortune and Men's Eyes:",
          "text": "He's a snob of the first water and views the lower orders with infinite condescension.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1937, Percy Marks, And Points Beyond:",
          "text": "Tommy rarely entered the top social stratum where Tyckman moved by right of wealth and ancestry, but he had found the man pleasant and without condescension.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1941, Stephen Vincent Benet, The Devil and Daniel Webster:",
          "text": "Jabez rides through the fields on his sleek new horse, watching his neighbors harvest his crops. He shows a certain condescension toward them which is akin to arrogance.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1954, Chester Himes, Third Generation:",
          "text": "He was self-conscious about the brace and wore a jacket even on the hottest days. It held him abnormally erect. His face was tight from the discomfort and frustration. His posture was mistaken for a sign of arrogance, his expression for disdain and condescension.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1984, I.C. Jarvie, Rationality and Relativism:",
          "text": "What if the signals are confused and both the doctrines of respect for and condescension towards other moralities is preached?",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1989, William A. Henry III, “A Zany Redheaded Everywoman”, in Time, number 1989/12/08:",
          "text": "The greatest indignity of all, it generally turned out, was the chuckling condescension of her husband Ricky, played by her real-life husband and business partner Desi Arnaz. The confident king of the castle, he was always ready to teach Lucy a lesson.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1996 April 28, Jon Pareles, “POP VIEW; Can Rock Play to the Broadway Crowd?”, in New York Times:",
          "text": "But Broadway's longtime condescension to rock musicians meant that a generation or two of potential theater composers took its talents elsewhere.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1999 June 28, Paul Quinn-Judge, “Yeltsin's Fast-Break Generals”, in Time:",
          "text": "Yeltsin, meanwhile, was smarting at what he felt was Bill Clinton's condescension toward him.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2000, Paul Taylor, “TV's Political Profits”, in Mother Jones, volume 25, number 3, page 31:",
          "text": "CBS Morning News anchor Bryant Gumbel indulged in a bout of on-air condescension about the campaign. \"I stumbled upon Saturday's debate,\" he told viewers, \"and it seemed a rather sad show.\"",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2009 June 29, Nancy Gibbs, “Dads Are Dudes”, in Time, volume 173, number 25, page 56:",
          "text": "We talk about fathers like puppies tripping over their big paws, a portrait long mirrored in a culture in which Father Knows Least, from Fred Flintstone to Homer Simpson. We diminish with faint praise; dads still get points for returning children at the end of the day with all their limbs in place. But the more engaged fathers become, the more women have to reckon with what a true parenting partnership would look like. Maternal condescension only really took hold in the modern age, when we turned parenting into a profession with its own implicit peer-review boards and competitive frenzy.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A patronizing attitude or behavior."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "derogatory",
          "derogatory"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(usually uncountable, derogatory) A patronizing attitude or behavior."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "derogatory",
        "uncountable",
        "usually"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with archaic senses"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Courtesy, affability of a superior towards an inferior."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "Courtesy",
          "courtesy"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "non-derogatory",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(archaic, non-derogatory) Courtesy, affability of a superior towards an inferior."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "archaic",
        "uncountable",
        "usually"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/kɑndiˈsɛnʃən/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/kɒndiˈsɛnʃən/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɛnʃən"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "sense": "the act of condescending",
      "word": "condescendence"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "roman": "snizhoždénie",
      "sense": "act of condescending",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "снизхожде́ние"
    },
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "roman": "blagovolénie",
      "sense": "act of condescending",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "благоволе́ние"
    },
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "roman": "snizhodítelnost",
      "sense": "act of condescending",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "снизходи́телност"
    },
    {
      "code": "eo",
      "lang": "Esperanto",
      "sense": "act of condescending",
      "word": "malaltiĝo"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "act of condescending",
      "word": "alentuminen"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "act of condescending",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "condescendance"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "act of condescending",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "Herablassung"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "act of condescending",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "Kondeszendenz"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "sygkatavatikótita",
      "sense": "act of condescending",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "συγκαταβατικότητα"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "katadektikótita",
      "sense": "act of condescending",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "καταδεκτικότητα"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "act of condescending",
      "word": "leereszkedés"
    },
    {
      "code": "mk",
      "lang": "Macedonian",
      "roman": "snishodlivost",
      "sense": "act of condescending",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "снисходливост"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "act of condescending",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "condescendência"
    },
    {
      "code": "ro",
      "lang": "Romanian",
      "sense": "act of condescending",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "bunăvoință"
    },
    {
      "code": "ro",
      "lang": "Romanian",
      "sense": "act of condescending",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "amabilitate"
    },
    {
      "code": "ro",
      "lang": "Romanian",
      "sense": "act of condescending",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "condescendență"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "snisxoždénije",
      "sense": "act of condescending",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "снисхожде́ние"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "blagovolénije",
      "sense": "act of condescending",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "благоволе́ние"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "mílostʹ",
      "sense": "act of condescending",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "ми́лость"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "snisxodítelʹnostʹ",
      "sense": "act of condescending",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "снисходи́тельность"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "act of condescending",
      "tags": [
        "Cyrillic",
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "снисходљивост"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "act of condescending",
      "tags": [
        "Roman",
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "snishodljivost"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "act of condescending",
      "word": "nedlåtenhet"
    },
    {
      "code": "tr",
      "lang": "Turkish",
      "sense": "act of condescending",
      "word": "kibir"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "patronizing attitude or behavior",
      "word": "alentuvuus"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "patronizing attitude or behavior",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "protekcjonalizm"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "patronizing attitude or behavior",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "protekcjonalność"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "condescension"
  ],
  "word": "condescension"
}

Download raw JSONL data for condescension meaning in English (12.9kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-11-06 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-10-02 using wiktextract (fbeafe8 and 7f03c9b). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.