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Make Your Point > Archived Issues > DESPISE & DESPICABLE

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pronounce these words:

For "despise," say "duh SPIZE." Hear it.

For "despicable," say "duh SPICK uh bull." Hear it.

connect these words to others:

A high five to Dwayne, a reader and patron who pointed out that the word despise deserves a close look!

In essence, to despise something is look down on it, and something despicable should be looked down upon.

Now, when you hear the word despicable, do you think of Daffy Duck accusing Bugs Bunny of vile deeds? Or do you think of Gru gleefully planning vile deeds, like stealing the moon? 

(Source 1) (Source 2)

I think of Gru. I love how he starts out embracing his despicable nature—joyfully freeze-raying all the customers ahead of him in line for coffee—then later how he realizes that the only despicable thing he's really done is abandoning his little girls. (Spoiler: he makes it up to them.)

The words despise and despicable belong to a huge family of words that all have to do with looking or seeing. That family includes words like spy, spectacle, and perspective, as well as the ones below. See if you can recall them:

1. With Latin bits meaning "looking all around," the word c_____spect describes people who are careful and watchful.

2. With Latin bits meaning "able to see through," the word p__spic___s describes people who are smart, observant, and insightful.

3. With Latin bits meaning "looking inward," the word i____spect___ describes people who focus on their own thoughts, feelings, and situations.

(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) 

definitions:

The words "despise" and "despicable" have Latin bits that mean "looking down."

When you despise things or people, you look down on them: you think they're really bad or really disgusting, so you hate them.

And despicable things are really bad or really disgusting, so they seem to deserve people's hate.

grammatical bits:

Parts of speech:

"Despise" is a verb, the transitive kind: "I despise raw carrots;" "Why does he despise capitalism so much?"

"Despicable" is an adjective: "I carefully remove each despicable raw carrot;" "He finds capitalism despicable."

Other common forms: 

Despised, despising; despicably.

"Despise" and "despicable" are very closely related to the words "spite" and "despite," but their meanings are quite different, so let's explore them later.

how to use them:

Pick these common, formal, highly negative words when you want to emphasize how truly vile and awful something is.

Talk about people despising things, people, or even themselves: "She despises greed;" "He despises roaches," "They despise the wealthy;" "She despises herself for her cowardice."

Or, talk about despicable things and people, like despicable crimes, criminals, and villains.

examples:

"I know he despises being useless, sitting still while war overtakes us."
— Barbara Kingsolver, The Poisonwood Bible, 1998

     "What do they do all day, these people in the Capitol, besides decorating their bodies and waiting around for a new shipment of tributes to roll in and die for their entertainment?
     I look up and find Cinna's eyes trained on mine. 'How despicable we must seem to you,' he says."
— Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games, 2008

has this page helped you understand "despise" & "despicable"?

   

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about these words, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.


study them:

Explain the meanings of "despise" and "despicable" without saying "hate" or "hateful."

try one out:

Compared to the word "dislike," "despise" is quite strong. It emphasizes how you find something truly disgusting or deeply unsettling.

With that in mind, talk about something you dislike, and contrast it with something you despise. These things might be two different foods, words, phrases, trends, technologies, household supplies, physical symptoms, social rules, personal habits, or anything else that brings you strong feelings of disgust or displeasure.




before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game this month is "That’s What They Said."

Consider a quote from The Office, and decide which of three given terms you can most easily connect it to. You can see my suggested answer by scrolling to the bottom of the issue. But yours doesn’t need to match mine. 

For example, if I give you this:

Kelly: "I talk a lot, so I've learned to just tune myself out." Abstemious, garrulous, or ominous?

Then you might answer, "Garrulous, because Kelly talks on and on."

Try this one today:

Creed: "I’ve been involved in a number of cults, both a leader and a follower. You have more fun as a follower, but you make more money as a leader." Antithetical, pedantic, or Byzantine?

review these words:

1. A close opposite of DESPISE is

A. FOCUS ON.
B. LOOK UP TO.
C. TALK SHOP WITH.

2. A character in Kazuo Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day calls "the French attitude" "despicable" and "_____."

A. deeply serious
B. oddly presumptuous
C. increasingly barbarous




Answers to the review questions:
1. B
2. C

Suggested answer to the game question:

I'd go with antithetical, because Creed is talking about two opposite roles.


a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.

From my blog:
On vocabulary...
      36 ways to study words.
      Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
      How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
On writing...
      How to improve any sentence.
      How to motivate our kids to write.
      How to stop procrastinating and start writing.
      How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count.

From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.

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