How to Use condescension in a Sentence

condescension

noun
  • Perhaps worst of all, the whole thing has an air of oily condescension.
    — Jack Holmes, Esquire, 9 Jan. 2018
  • With some of them, there is a lot of condescension and nastiness.
    — Margaret Talbot, The New Yorker, 28 Aug. 2022
  • There’s no condescension here, just talent, and a lot of it on display.
    — Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 14 Mar. 2023
  • Praise was wrapped in condescension.
    — Paula Ferrada, Forbes.com, 13 Mar. 2026
  • The class condescension created by the myth that art was for the rich was now challenged.
    — Kealey Boyd, Los Angeles Times, 16 Feb. 2023
  • That condescension, even if well-meaning, corrodes the chain of trust.
    — Danielle Ofri, The New Yorker, 12 June 2021
  • Even the most innocuous new-mom queries can be met with condescension and outrage.
    — Julie Jargon, WSJ, 10 Dec. 2022
  • Like As If, there was no condescension from those behind the show.
    — Alim Kheraj, GQ, 19 Apr. 2018
  • It's done with such a tinge of condescension or derision with women.
    — ELLE, 28 Mar. 2022
  • Granik presents this grange and trailer park culture without a trace of condescension.
    — Peter Rainer, The Christian Science Monitor, 29 June 2018
  • If hypocrisy and condescension had an official slogan, that would be it.
    — Marci Robin, Allure, 10 Oct. 2023
  • This is where condescension, or fetishism, or novelty begins to creep in.
    — Richard Lawson, vanityfair.com, 19 Apr. 2017
  • But maybe setting the bar high was a sign of respect for her audience, rather than condescension.
    — Stephanie Zacharek, TIME, 29 Oct. 2024
  • The storm of criticism that followed arrived with a mix of fierce anger and lofty condescension.
    — Gregory Krieg, CNN, 4 Apr. 2018
  • The most common form condescension takes, Jackson says, is through words.
    — USA TODAY, 18 July 2023
  • But Musk deserved such condescension, and the jurors did not.
    — Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 20 May 2026
  • There was sneering condescension, of course, but there were also some honest attempts to track the roots of the look.
    — Carolina A. Miranda, Los Angeles Times, 13 June 2023
  • There’s a whiff of that famous Marie savior complex again, along with a good dose of condescension.
    — Carol Sutton Lewis, Scientific American, 20 Apr. 2023
  • Bertie is wary and defensive, fending off Liam at first with smarm and condescension.
    — Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 3 July 2023
  • In recent weeks, the media have treated him with condescension.
    — Letters To The Editor, Washington Post, 30 July 2024
  • There is no hint of condescension in her writing, which is part of its difficulty and its power.
    — Literary Hub, 9 Apr. 2026
  • There is no hint of condescension in her writing, which is part of its difficulty and its power.
    — Kristen Roupenian, New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2026
  • The condescension came from the man who supposedly was in her corner.
    — Susan Page, USA TODAY, 11 Apr. 2024
  • The use of a girlish nickname smacks of a condescension that the author clearly doesn’t wish to imply.
    — Melanie Kirkpatrick, WSJ, 22 Jan. 2020
  • The debate crackled with condescension as the two men sparred, reflecting the close nature of the race.
    — Katie Glueck, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2022
  • There’s no condescension, no treatment of Powter as a cautionary tale.
    — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 18 Nov. 2025
  • To say these are the kinds of shows that will light a fire under you in the kitchen would be an overstatement bordering on condescension for many of us.
    — Washington Post, 23 Mar. 2021
  • Penn’s portraits of Africans and New Guineans risk condescension.
    — Bruce Handy, Vanities, 21 Apr. 2017
  • People don’t even have to raise their voices to cross the line into condescension, although voices do sometimes get raised.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 10 July 2021
  • But Russell’s performance was a beam of pure light, burning off any condescension.
    — Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 6 Oct. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'condescension.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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