supercilious

(sū'pər-sĭl'ē-əs)
adj.
Feeling or showing haughty disdain. See synonyms at proud.

[Latin superciliōsus, from supercilium, eyebrow, pride : super-, super- + cilium, lower eyelid.]

superciliously su'per·cil'i·ous·ly adv.
superciliousness su'per·cil'i·ous·ness n.

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A New York Times writeup of Kevin B. Rollins, the CEO of Dell, took a look at his character:

"...he endured the sting of people essentially telling him that he could be so supercilious and icy cold that his personality should be stored in a meat locker. "

Link: He Naps. He Sings. And He Isn't Michael Dell.

Posted September 13, 2005.

See our Word Overheard blog to see interesting uses of strange words.

adjective

Overly convinced of one's own superiority and importance: arrogant, haughty, high-and-mighty, insolent, lofty, lordly, overbearing, overweening, prideful, proud, superior. Idioms: on one's high horse. See attitude/good attitude/bad attitude/neutral attitude.

adj

Definition: arrogant, stuck-up
Antonyms: humble, modest

haughtily contemptuous

For a list of words related to supercilious, see:

• Demanding, Critical, Calculating, or Selfish
• Disapproval, Disrespect, and Denial - supercilious: (adj) patronizing and haughtily disdainful of others
• Blame, Censure, Ridicule, and Contempt - supercilious: (adj) patronizing; haughtily disdainful

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See words rhyming with "supercilious."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Supercilious.

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - hoven, overlegen, vigtig

Nederlands (Dutch)
hautain, arrogant

Français (French)
adj. - dédaigneux

Deutsch (German)
adj. - hochnäsig

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - υπεροπτικός, υπερφίαλος

Italiano (Italian)
altero

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - arrogante

Русский (Russian)
надменный, горделивый, презрительный

Español (Spanish)
adj. - altanero, desdeñoso

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - högdragen, överlägsen

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
自大的, 目空一切的, 傲慢的

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 自大的, 目空一切的, 傲慢的

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 사람을 내려다보는, 거만한, 건방진

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 傲慢な, 横柄な

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) متكبر‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮יהיר, מתנשא‬

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