as in abusive
marked by harsh insulting language
a well-reasoned thesis that merited more than just a scornful, contumelious response
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contumelious
Adjective
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The women's arrests uncovered a pattern of abusive teaching by Hildebrandt, and confirmed growing suspicions of critics who long questioned Franke’s strict parenting style on her popular 8 Passengers family vlogging page on YouTube.—
Sean Neumann,
People.com,
28 July 2025 -
Christopher McDonald, as Happy’s nemesis Scooter McGavin, and Ben Stiller, as abusive orderly Hal L, have also returned.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
26 July 2025
Adjective
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And then, especially in the past several years, friends who stayed say: Honestly, this is kind of insulting—the way people keep talking about Lebanon from afar.—
Sahar Delijani
July 17,
Literary Hub,
17 July 2025
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The deliberate and insulting call-out immediately sent the wrestling world into a frenzy.—
Andrew Ravens,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 July 2025
Adjective
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For all his outrageous behavior and near-fatal travails, much of Osbourne’s appeal stemmed from his everyman persona as a working-class-hero-turned-multimillionaire who couldn’t believe his good luck.—
George Varga,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
23 July 2025
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The world is still a familiar one: Patricia Field’s styling ghost haunts every outrageous outfit choice and Carrie’s heels still clack satisfyingly on the sidewalk.—
Lily Ford,
HollywoodReporter,
23 July 2025
Adjective
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The law requires pornographic websites to verify users’ ages – for example by making users scan and upload their driver’s license – before granting access to content that is deemed obscene for minors but not adults.—
Meg Leta Jones,
The Conversation,
27 June 2025
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Lawsuit alleges 'obscene' government overreach Longo's lawsuit, filed in Chemung County, New York, names the county, the city of Elmira and several DEC officers as defendants.—
Jeanine Santucci,
USA Today,
12 July 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Contumelious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contumelious. Accessed 4 Aug. 2025.
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