contumely

English

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contumely

/ˈkɒnt͡ʃuːməli/ UK
/ˈkɒntjuːməli/ UK
/kɒnˈt͡ʃuːməli/ UK, rare
/kɒnˈtjuːməli/ UK

Where it comes from

From Old French contumelie, from Latin contumēlia (“insult”), perhaps from com- + tumeō (“swell”).

noun contumelies

countable, uncountable Offensive and abusive language or behaviour; scorn, insult. For who would beare the Whips and Scornes of time, / The Oppressors wrong, the poore mans Contumely, [...]

Translations

Every language

noun offensive and abusive language or behaviour

Español	injuria, ofensa, contumelia
中文	侮辱, 无礼 wúlǐ, 傲慢 àomàn
Português	insulto, contumélia, insolência
Italiano	contumelia
Русский	оскорбле́ние oskorblénije, де́рзость dérzostʹ

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Cite this

MLA

"contumely." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/contumely. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

contumely. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/contumely

Chicago

"contumely." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/contumely.

BibTeX

@misc{contumely_2026,
  title = {contumely},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/contumely},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}