condescend

condescend
I
(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)
v. i. stoop, deign, descend, vouchsafe. See humility, pride.
II
(Roget's IV) v.
Syn. vouchsafe, stoop, deign, lower oneself, humble oneself, demean oneself, degrade oneself, submit with good grace, patronize, assume a patronizing air, assume a superior air, talk down to, lower one's tone, graciously stoop, unbend, accommodate oneself to (one regarded as inferior), descend, waive a privilege, favor, accord, come down off one's high horse*, come down a peg*, sing small*; see also patronize 2 .
Syn.- condescend implies a voluntary descent by one high in rank, power, etc. to act graciously or affably toward one regarded as his inferior [ the general condescended to talk with the private ] ; stoop implies a descending in dignity, as by committing some shameful or immoral act [ to stoop to cheating ] ; deign connotes unwilling or arrogant condescension [ the duchess deigned to shake my hand ] and, hence, is most frequently used in negative constructions or with such qualifications as hardly, scarcely, barely [ she didn't deign to reply; he would scarcely deign to appear in public ]
III
(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus) (VOCABULARY WORD) v.
[KON di send]
to lower oneself to the level of another with lesser status. Also, to talk down to someone.
Our teacher was willing to condescend and take the advice of students. He fancied himself a big shot and spoke condescendingly to everyone.
SYN.:
1. descend, humble oneself, bend, *come down off one's high horse, vouchsafe, deign, stoop, lower oneself, yield.
2. talk down to, patronize, talk down one's nose, regard with hauteur.
IV
(Roget's Thesaurus II) verb 1. To descend to a level considered inappropriate to one's dignity: deign, stoop, vouchsafe. See OVER, RISE. 2. To treat in a superciliously indulgent manner: patronize. Informal: highhat. Idiom: speak (or talk) down to. See ATTITUDE, OVER, RESPECT, RISE.

English dictionary for students. 2013.

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  • Condescend — Con de*scend , v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Condescended}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Condescending}.] [F. condescendre, LL. condescendere, fr. L. con + descendere. See {Descend}.] 1. To stoop or descend; to let one s self down; to submit; to waive the privilege… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • condescend — [kän΄di send′] vi. [ME condescenden < OFr condescendre < LL(Ec) condescendere, to let oneself down, condescend < L com , together + descendere,DESCEND] 1. to descend voluntarily to the level, regarded as lower, of the person one is… …   English World dictionary

  • condescend — I (deign) verb accommodate oneself, accord, be courteous, be gracious, descend, descendere, disregard prestige, grant, humble oneself, lower oneself, sacrifice pride, se submittere, stoop, tolerate, unbend, vouchsafe, waive privilege, yield II… …   Law dictionary

  • condescend — mid 14c., to yield deferentially, from O.Fr. condescendere (14c.) to agree, consent, give in, yield, from L.L. condescendere to let oneself down, from L. com together (see COM (Cf. com )) + descendere descend (see DESCEND (Cf. descend)). Sense of …   Etymology dictionary

  • condescend — *stoop, deign Analogous words: favor, accommodate, *oblige: vouchsafe, concede, *grant Antonyms: presume …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • condescend — [v] stoop, humble oneself accommodate, accord, acquiesce, agree, be courteous, bend, come down off high horse*, comply, concede, degrade oneself, deign, demean oneself, descend, favor, grant, high hat*, lower oneself, oblige, see fit, submit,… …   New thesaurus

  • condescend — ► VERB 1) show that one feels superior. 2) do something despite regarding it as below one s dignity: he condescended to see me at my hotel. DERIVATIVES condescension noun. ORIGIN Latin condescendere, from descendere descend …   English terms dictionary

  • condescend — v. (formal) 1) (d; intr.) to condescend to (to condescend to cheating) 2) (E) to condescend to mingle with the workers * * * [ˌkɒndɪ send] (E) to condescend to mingle with the workers (formal) (d; intr.) to condescend to (to condescend to… …   Combinatory dictionary

  • condescend — UK [ˌkɒndɪˈsend] / US [ˌkɑndəˈsend] verb [intransitive] Word forms condescend : present tense I/you/we/they condescend he/she/it condescends present participle condescending past tense condescended past participle condescended to behave in a way… …   English dictionary

  • condescend — con|de|scend [ˌkɔndıˈsend US ˌka:n ] v [Date: 1300 1400; : French; Origin: condescendre, from [i]Late Latin condescendere, from Latin com ( COM ) + descendere to go down ] 1.) to behave as if you think you are better, more intelligent, or more… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • condescend — con|de|scend [ ,kandə send ] verb intransitive to behave in a way that shows that you think you are more important or more intelligent than other people: condescend to: Try not to condescend to the children. condescend to do something: We waited… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

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