Condescend | Meaning + Examples
Description
condescend to do something
(usually disapproving) to do something that you think is below your social or professional position to do
condescend to someone
(disapproving) to behave towards someone as though you are more important and more intelligent than they are
Two Example Dialogues Using ‘Condescend’
: How did it go with David?
: Oh, he condescended to help me with the kids, but he made it very clear that he didn’t think that was men’s work. I’ve got to find another nanny soon. I don’t know how much more condescension I can take from my stupid brother-in-law.
: Now this is what we call a fork. Do you know what that is?
: Don’t condescend to me. English may not be my first language, but I’ve been in this country for six years, and I’m not stupid!
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Examples of ‘Condescend’ from the News
“Whoever uses it, though, it’s arguable that the phrase ‘first word problems’ is condescending and dehumanizing to literally everyone on the planet. For a start, it patronizes those outside the ‘first world’ by implying that hunger, disease and war are not only prevalent among the global poor but in some way the sole condition of their lives. It implicitly characterizes the less fortunate majority of the world’s population as saintly idiots who would never dream of complaining about anything more trivial.”
– Steven Poole, “Why the phrase ‘first world problem’ is condescending to everyone”, 2 October 2015
“‘Students in the prison are held to the exact same standards, levels of rigor and expectation as students on Bard’s main campus,’ said Max Kenner, executive director of the Bard Prison Initiative, which operates in six New York prisons. ‘Those students are serious. They are not condescended to by their faculty.'”
– “Harvard University debate team loses to New York inmates”, 7 October 2015
Special Notes on the Word ‘Condescend’
When you condescend to someone, you don’t openly call them an idiot, etc. You simply behave in a way that shows you think you’re better than them.
‘Condescend’ is a wonderfully expressive word, and I also love one of its synonyms. If you deign to do something, you do something in a way that shows you think you are too important to do it. We use this word disapprovingly or sarcastically. Here is a playful example of using it sarcastically:
: Want to meet up after work tomorrow?
: I suppose I could deign to have dinner with you. Does 7:00 PM work?
Lastly, the adjective form of today’s word of the day is ‘condescending‘. You will hear the adjective form all the time.
: Don’t you adopt that condescending tone with me!
Pronunciation of ‘Condescend’
/ˌkɑːndɪˈsend/
Sources: Definition of ‘Condescend’, Definition of ‘Deign’
Each word of the day only focuses on one definition. To learn every possible definition of the word, I recommend that you look it up in your favorite dictionary.
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