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supercilious

Meaning of "supercilious" in the English dictionary

DICTIONARY

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD SUPERCILIOUS

From Latin superciliōsus, from supercilium eyebrow.

Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.

PRONUNCIATION OF SUPERCILIOUS

ˌsuːpəˈsɪlɪəs


GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF SUPERCILIOUS

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Supercilious is an adjective.
The adjective is the word that accompanies the noun to determine or qualify it.

WHAT DOES SUPERCILIOUS MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Hubris

Hubris in religious terms means extreme pride or self-confidence that leads to offence spoken or done towards the God, usually harshly punished after. This religious meaning is sometimes transferred to denote overall highly unacceptable, arrogant and insulting behaviour that confronts ethical norms in a way that reminds one of the act described in Ancient Tragedies. Hubris is usually perceived as a characteristic of an individual rather than a group, although the group the offender belongs to may suffer consequences from the wrongful act. Hubris often indicates a loss of contact with reality and an overestimation of one's own competence, accomplishments or capabilities, especially when the person exhibiting it is in a position of power. The adjectival form of the noun hubris is "hubristic".

Definition of supercilious in the English dictionary

The definition of supercilious in the dictionary is displaying arrogant pride, scorn, or indifference.

WORDS THAT RHYME WITH SUPERCILIOUS

alias · antibilious · Aurelius · bilious · coleus · Delius · golias · Heraclius · ileus · Lucilius · micronucleus · nucleus · pileous · pileus · punctilious · reptilious · Sibelius · sibilous · soleus · Vesalius

WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE SUPERCILIOUS

supercautious · supercelestial · supercenter · supercharge · supercharged · supercharger · supercherie · superchic · superchurch · superciliary · superciliously · superciliousness · supercity · supercivilised · supercivilized · superclass · superclean · superclub · supercluster · supercoil

WORDS THAT END LIKE SUPERCILIOUS

atrabilious · conscious · contumelious · curious · delicious · folious · furious · glorious · hilarious · luxurious · melancholious · obvious · precious · previous · rebellious · religious · serious · spacious · thallious · various

Synonyms and antonyms of supercilious in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

SYNONYMS OF «SUPERCILIOUS»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «supercilious» and belong to the same grammatical category.

Translation of «supercilious» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR

TRANSLATION OF SUPERCILIOUS

Find out the translation of supercilious to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

The translations of supercilious from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «supercilious» in English.
zh

Translator English - Chinese

目空一切
1,325 millions of speakers
es

Translator English - Spanish

altanero
570 millions of speakers
en

English

supercilious
510 millions of speakers
hi

Translator English - Hindi

नफ़रत
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

متغطرس
280 millions of speakers
ru

Translator English - Russian

надменный
278 millions of speakers
pt

Translator English - Portuguese

supercilious
270 millions of speakers
bn

Translator English - Bengali

উন্নাসিক
260 millions of speakers
fr

Translator English - French

dédaigneux
220 millions of speakers
ms

Translator English - Malay

Supercilious
190 millions of speakers
de

Translator English - German

hochnäsig
180 millions of speakers
ja

Translator English - Japanese

傲慢な
130 millions of speakers
ko

Translator English - Korean

얕보
85 millions of speakers
jv

Translator English - Javanese

Supercilious
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

kiêu ngạo
80 millions of speakers
ta

Translator English - Tamil

அகந்தையுள்ளவன்
75 millions of speakers
mr

Translator English - Marathi

बेपर्वा
75 millions of speakers
tr

Translator English - Turkish

mağrur
70 millions of speakers
it

Translator English - Italian

altezzoso
65 millions of speakers
pl

Translator English - Polish

butny
50 millions of speakers
uk

Translator English - Ukrainian

гордовитий
40 millions of speakers
ro

Translator English - Romanian

disprețuitor
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

θράσους
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

verwaand
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

högdragen
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

hovmodige
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of supercilious

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «SUPERCILIOUS»

Principal search tendencies and common uses of supercilious
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «supercilious».

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about supercilious

EXAMPLES

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «SUPERCILIOUS»

Discover the use of supercilious in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to supercilious and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
The Adventure of the Supercilious Attache
Nonsense, child, nonsense!
Grant Allen, 2010
2
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Weird Word Origins
supercilious. 179. in the name of sidewalk-less streets is up with the sub- prefix? Snobby city types will tell you that it indicates the suburbs are "below" the city because there are fewer cultural institutions, fewer restaurants, and sidewalk-less  ...
Paul McFedries, 2008
3
Word Power Made Easy
Excessively polite and fawning: (a) querulous, (b) obsequious, (c) supercilious 2. Noisily troublesome: (a) querulous, (b) impecunious, (c) obstreperous 3. Courteous and attentive to women: (a) querulous, (b) chivalrous, (c) supercilious 4.
Norman Lewis, 1991
4
The Merriam-Webster New Book of Word Histories
448 supercilious (mona 'moon' and daeg 'day'). But here the translating took an interesting turn. Since the other days of the week were named for Roman gods, the Germanic people substituted the names of their own gods having similar ...
‎1991
5
Pocket Posh Word Power: 120 Words You Should Know
115 supercilious /(sō ̄ō'pər-sil'ē-əs)/ adjective 1 Lofty with pride; haughtily contemptuous; overbearing. 2 Manifesting haughtiness or proceeding from it; overbear- ing; arrogant: as a supercilious air; supercilious behavior. Examples: And ...
Wordnik, 2011
6
Introduction to Pragmatics
In the case of (6b), on the other hand, there clearly is an intent that the word supercilious be taken to mean “arrogant and disdainful.” Someone who uses this word intends that the word/meaning correlation be recognized by their interlocutor.
Betty J. Birner, 2012
7
Raillerie Ā la Mode Consider'D; Or, the Supercilious ...
This is an OCR edition without illustrations or index. It may have numerous typos or missing text. However, purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original rare book from the publisher's website (GeneralBooksClub.com).
General Books, 2010
8
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Synonyms
Guide Series: Tenn.) Supercilious stresses such superficial aspects of haughtiness as a lofty patronizing manner intended to repel advances. It refers to one's behavior to others rather than to one's conceit of oneself, though the latter is always ...
Merriam-Webster, Inc, 1984
9
Raillerie a la Mode Consider'd, Or, the Supercilious ...
This book represents an authentic reproduction of the text as printed by the original publisher.
Anon, 2011
10
Raillerie a la Mode Consider'd: Or, the Supercilious ...
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.
Anonymous, BiblioBazaar, 2013

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «SUPERCILIOUS»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term supercilious is used in the context of the following news items.
1
In a word: prig
... by an air of petulance and self-conceit, which holds a middle rank betwixt the insolence of a first rate buck, and the learned pride of a supercilious pedant.”. «Baltimore Sun, Jun 15»
2
Hillary's Iowa Visit Was Staged
Her supercilious attitude of entitlement came across to such an extent that not only did she lose to Obama, but also to that paragon of virtue, North Carolina's ... «The New American, Apr 15»
3
Campus Incubators of Prejudice
But somewhere in the middle of my volcanic rage, I was stopped short, suddenly remembering his supercilious words: One simply has to abide by the rules as ... «Huffington Post, Apr 15»
4
Radio 4′s woeful 'fact-checking' is simply anti-Ukip bias
No other leader was subjected to similar scrutiny and even if the supercilious bint's figures were correct, the points Farage made still pertained. (In other words ... «Spectator.co.uk, Apr 15»
5
No, seriously, Bowling Green should hire Ohio State's Jeff Boals
This seems supercilious, as a perfectly great candidate, one who can continue to build off this momentum, is already in the great state of Ohio, just two hours to ... «Land-Grant Holy Land, Apr 15»
6
Santa Barbara's 'Botticelli, Titian and Beyond' a quirky gem
Still, its conveyance to a civic art museum was supercilious. The aim was to provide a public instrument of moral education for the new urban working class. «Los Angeles Times, Mar 15»
7
Round-Up: Editorial Boards From Around the Country Respond to …
The latest example is the supercilious letter sent by 47 Republican senators to Iran, a shallow effort to derail the negotiation over its nuclear program that ... «The White House, Mar 15»
8
Teaching Your Children the Faith Doesn't Mean Indoctrinating Them
Michael Brendan Dougherty corrects Richard Dawkins on the noted atheist's scanty understanding of religious instruction and his stupid, supercilious charge ... «Patheos, Feb 15»
9
Which kind of security professional are you?
Arrogant individuals are also called haughty, disdainful, supercilious. What does your inner voice say? Which kind of a professional are you? Are you arrogant ... «Help Net Security, Feb 15»
10
A glimpse into the life of a freelance photographer
Swirls of blue, purple and green tangle around the supercilious, cobalt peacock as he ignores the clicks of the camera, the wisps of Fargo's cool winter and the ... «The Concordian, Jan 15»
REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Supercilious [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/supercilious>. May 2024 ».
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