\Con*temp"tu*ous\ (?; 135), a.
Manifesting or expressing contempt or disdain; scornful;
haughty; insolent; disdainful.
      A proud, contemptuous behavior.          --Hammond.
      Savage invective and contemptuous sarcasm. --Macaulay.
      Rome . . . entertained the most contemptuous opinion of
      the Jews.                                --Atterbury.
Syn: Scornful; insolent; haughty; disdainful; supercilious;
     insulting; contumelious.
Usage: {Contemptuous}, {Contemptible}. These words, from
       their similarity of sound, are sometimes erroneously
       interchanged, as when a person speaks of having ``a
       very contemptible opinion of another.'' Contemptible
       is applied to that which is the object of contempt;
       as, contemptible conduct; acontemptible fellow.
       Contemptuous is applied to that which indicates
       contempt; as, a contemptuous look; a contemptuous
       remark; contemptuous treatment. A person, or whatever
       is personal, as an action, an expression, a feeling,
       an opinion, may be either contemptuous or
       contemptible; a thing may be contemptible, but can not
       be contemptuous.