Word origins - 2ed. J. Ayto. 2005.
Supercilious — Su per*cil i*ous, a. [L. superciliosus, fr. supercilium an eyebrow, pride; super over, + cilium an eyelid; probably akin to celare to conceal. Cf. {Conceal}.] Lofty with pride; haughty; dictatorial; overbearing; arrogant; as, a supercilious… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
supercilious — I adjective arrogant, assumptive, bumptious, cavalier, condescending, contemptuous, contumelious, derisive, dictatorial, disdainful, disrespectful, domineering, egotistic, fastidiosus, haughty, imperious, insolent, intolerant, irreverent, lofty,… … Law dictionary
supercilious — 1520s, from L. superciliosus haughty, arrogant, from supercilium haughty demeanor, pride, lit. eyebrow (via notion of raising the eyebrow to express haughtiness), from super above (see SUPER (Cf. super )) + cilium eyelid, related to celare to… … Etymology dictionary
supercilious — disdainful, overbearing, arrogant, haughty, *proud, lordly, insolent Analogous words: vain, vainglorious (see under PRIDE): contemptuous, scornful (see corresponding nouns under DESPISE vb) … New Dictionary of Synonyms
supercilious — [adj] arrogant, stuck up bossy, cavalier, cocky*, condescending, contemptuous, disdainful, egotistic, haughty, high andmighty*, imperious, insolent, lofty, nervy*, overbearing, patronizing, proud, putting on airs*, scornful, snobby, superior,… … New thesaurus
supercilious — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ having an air of contemptuous superiority. DERIVATIVES superciliously adverb superciliousness noun. ORIGIN Latin superciliosus haughty , from supercilium eyebrow … English terms dictionary
supercilious — [so͞o΄pərsil′ē əs] adj. [L superciliosus < supercilium, eyebrow, hence (with reference to facial expression with raised brows) haughtiness < super , above + cilium, eyelid (see CILIA)] disdainful or contemptuous; full of or characterized by … English World dictionary
supercilious — [[t]su͟ːpə(r)sɪ̱liəs[/t]] ADJ GRADED (disapproval) If you say that someone is supercilious, you disapprove of them because they behave in a way that shows they think they are better than other people. His manner is supercilious and arrogant...… … English dictionary
supercilious — n. supercilious about * * * [ˌs(j)uːpə sɪlɪəs] supercilious about … Combinatory dictionary
supercilious — su|per|cil|i|ous [ ,supər sıliəs ] adjective a supercilious person behaves as if they think they are better or more important than everyone else: a supercilious manner/smile/attitude ╾ su|per|cil|i|ous|ly adverb ╾ su|per|cil|i|ous|ness noun… … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
supercilious — adjective behaving as if you think that other people are less important than you; haughty: She s got a supercilious way of speaking that makes me want to scream! | a supercilious smile superciliously adverb superciliousness noun (U) … Longman dictionary of contemporary English
