- condescend
- I(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)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.