Link Centre Dictionary

supercilious

su·per·ci·lious

UK/ˌsuː.pəˈsɪ.li.əs/ US/ˌsu.pɚˈsɪ.li.əs/ uncommon

adjective

1.

having or showing arrogant superiority to and disdain of those one views as unworthy

  • “some economists are disdainful of their colleagues in other social disciplines”
  • “haughty aristocrats”
  • “his lordly manners were offensive”
  • “walked with a prideful swagger”
  • “very sniffy about breaches of etiquette”
  • “his mother eyed my clothes with a supercilious air”
  • “a more swaggering mood than usual” W.L.Shirer
2.

expressive of contempt

  • “curled his lip in a supercilious smile”
  • “spoke in a sneering jeering manner”
  • “makes many a sharp comparison but never a mean or snide one”

Origin

Learned borrowing from Latin superciliōsus (“haughty”).

Related words

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.