contemptuous

A contemptuous person does not merely dislike something; they look down on it, as though it has failed an invisible examination. The Latin form behind the word is contemptus, meaning “scorn” or “contempt,” and it belongs to the same historical family as Latin temptare, “to handle, test, or try.” That makes the ancient image unexpectedly physical: contempt begins with weighing something up, then deciding it is beneath you. By the 1590s, English had attached -ous to contempt and produced an adjective for the curled lip, the dismissive gesture, and the courtroom sneer. Paul Ekman later counted contempt as one of seven basic human emotions—proof that this ancient little act of looking down has survived remarkably well.