supercilious.

Displaying dismissive pride toward people regarded as inferior.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• supercilious smile
• supercilious manner

On the page

His supercilious smile vanished when she produced the letter.

The clerk’s supercilious manner discouraged further questions.

Usage notes

Primary category: literary. Forms: Comparative more supercilious; superlative most supercilious. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.