noun
1 lack of respect
ADJECTIVE
▪ complete , deep , great , open , outright , pure , utter , withering
▪ cold , icy
▪ healthy ( esp. BrE )
▪
She'd developed what she considered a healthy ~ for authority.
▪ barely disguised ( esp. BrE ), thinly disguised
VERB + CONTEMPT
▪ feel , have , hold sb/sth in
▪
He felt nothing but ~ for them.
▪
Politicians seem to be generally held in ~ by the police.
▪ betray , demonstrate , display , express , show
▪
His remarks betray an utter ~ for the truth (= are completely false) .
▪ conceal , hide
▪ regard sb/sth with , treat sb/sth with
▪ deserve , earn
▪
I shall treat that suggestion with the ~ it deserves.
PREPOSITION
▪ ~ for
▪
He has a deep ~ for racists.
▪ beneath ~
▪
His treatment of his children is beneath ~ (= so bad it is not even worth feeling contempt for) .
▪ with ~
▪
She looked at him with barely disguised ~.
2 ( also contempt of court ) refusal to obey a court
ADJECTIVE
▪ civil , criminal
VERB + CONTEMPT
▪ be held in
▪
She was held in ~ for refusing to testify.
PREPOSITION
▪ in ~