a. 1. Worthy of contempt; deserving of scorn or disdain; mean; vile; despicable. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ] The arguments of tyranny are ascontemptible as its force is dreadful. Burke. [ 1913 Webster ] 2. Despised; scorned; neglected; abject. Locke. [ 1913 Webster ] 3. Insolent; scornful; contemptuous. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ] If she should make tender of her love, 't is very possible he 'll scorn it; for the man . . . hath a contemptible spirit. Shak. Syn. -- Despicable; abject; vile; mean; base; paltry; worthless; sorry; pitiful; scurrile. See Contemptuous. -- Contemptible, Despicable, Pitiful, Paltry. Despicable is stronger than contemptible, as despise is stronger than contemn. It implies keen disapprobation, with a mixture of anger. A man is despicable chiefly for low actions which mark his life, such as servility, baseness, or mean adulation. A man is contemptible for mean qualities which distinguish his character, especially those which show him to be weak, foolish, or worthless. Treachery is despicable, egotism is contemptible. Pitiful and paltry are applied to cases which are beneath anger, and are simply contemptible in a high degree. [ 1913 Webster ] | 
