What's the difference between condescending and supercilious?

Condescending


Definition:

  • (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Condescend

Example Sentences:

  • (1) It somewhat condescendingly divides the population into 15 groups – among them, Terraced Melting Pot (“Lower-income workers, mostly young, living in tightly packed inner-urban terraces”), and Suburban Mind-sets (“Maturing families on mid-range incomes living a moderate lifestyle in suburban semis”).
  • (2) For instance the 'Sarah's Law' campaign there were quite a lot of people who were quite condescending ... and actually the public were quite worried about this.
  • (3) At stake: rice cakes, a gift basket, and a somewhat condescending hockey puck.
  • (4) The somewhat condescending implication is: "You'll all get there in the end."
  • (5) This weekend the very accomplished Rona Fairhead, former FT chief executive and now the government’s choice to be the new chair of the BBC Trust, was described namelessly in a Telegraph headline as “mother of three.” It was decidedly reminiscent of that Sunday Times front page headline in April, “Grandmother, 71, tackles slave traffickers for the Pope” , sparking condescending mental images of a sweet little ol’ granny pummelling evil-doers with her cane.
  • (6) It is snobbish and condescending to mock any creative or practical manual work.
  • (7) Taken out of context, and interspersed with condescending comments to backbench MPs, Cameron's quote is entirely misleading."
  • (8) But the condescending tone of the letter, which suggested that Iranians do not understand the American political process, provoked harsh words from both the Obama administration and even Iran’s foreign minister.
  • (9) You could say that acceptance of homosexuality became one of the key measures of modernity long before societies like ours in Britain condescended to update their anti-gay structures.
  • (10) That, I wanted to write about - in a sense it sounds condescending, and I don't mean it quite this way - I wanted to write about the way popular culture is an inheritor of something else.
  • (11) Since having come back to London, I've spoken to a few of these rare exotic birds – the Femaleus footballus writerus – and all have stories of casual sexism: being mistaken for tea ladies in the press centre; being condescended to by managers in press conferences; being demoted by their bosses when they have children, which is most definitely not a problem in the more female-dominated fashion business.
  • (12) And it would be nothing short of condescending for screenwriter Aaron Sorkin and director David Fincher to have concocted some fictional spunky-girl nerd character or a wise female comp sci professor in an attempt to make their film more female-friendly.
  • (13) Gravity was a huge, old-fashioned spectacle of a film, a terrific experience, superb in its simplicity and Barnumesque flair for movie showmanship, but it has been dismissed in some quarters (rather condescendingly) because of the alleged hokiness of its dialogue and characterisation.
  • (14) Tedros said the ICC was "condescending" towards the continent.
  • (15) When they resisted, he rounded on them with a mix of expletives, threats and condescending insults, including the poisonous utterance "pleb".
  • (16) The people in the villages of Los Negros seem to be puzzled, confused and, in some cases, fearful of the developments at Lombrum … It is a shame that this has happened because it could easily have been avoided.” The report blames in part the culture gap between local people and the predominantly military, police and security types working at the centre, whose behaviour was noticeably condescending and whose physical appearance villagers found intimidating.
  • (17) We were totally opposed, totally patronised, totally condescended and actually vilified, really.” She described how she was branded “Harriet Harperson” and “hapless Harriet” while arguing for basic changes that are now considered the norm, such as men getting time off when their babies are born.
  • (18) What's more is that Sorkin's already been called out this year for his condescending treatment of Globe and Mail reporter Sarah Prickett , who he famously referred to as "internet girl" at a press conference.
  • (19) Sadly, you can't read those ancient lines now without hearing them uttered in that patiently condescending voice.
  • (20) I just thought it was a jaw-droppingly condescending way of treating someone who is just proudly hanging some flags outside their home.

Supercilious


Definition:

  • (a.) Lofty with pride; haughty; dictatorial; overbearing; arrogant; as, a supercilious officer; asupercilious air; supercilious behavior.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) Comment is perfectly legitimate, but the sneering, supercilious, specious and dismissive contributions masquerading as ‘commentary’ belittle the claims of a ‘quality’ paper.” Before attempting to assess the validity of the reader’s analysis – broadly shared by some other readers – I think his email reflects one or two other interesting aspects of the demographics of the Guardian’s readership and the left.
  • (2) After former tabloid editor Piers Morgan was fired from CNN , there were warnings that the US media was now poisoned to British accents and supposed superciliousness.
  • (3) But when I saw the advert it occurred to me that it, and that supercilious exclamation mark in particular, could in fact give people an excuse to express their homophobia.
  • (4) A decade later when I met him again in a hotel suite in London, it was more Mona Lisa than Cheshire Cat - coolly supercilious, ultimately indecipherable.
  • (5) It was often veiled, supercilious and sinister, but on screen he made us an offer we couldn't refuse.
  • (6) So the relationship that begins at the Milford railway station (it's two metaphorical stops down the line from Borchester – The Archers began five years after Brief Encounter) with a piece of grit in Laura's eye and Alec's unquestionably clean handkerchief will lead to afternoons together, lunch and a visit to the cinema (their silly movie is called Flames of Passion), a country drive, and an awkward trip to a friend's flat (the supercilious Valentine Dyall).
  • (7) Recently, I have caught myself saying something in everyday conversation that a few years ago would have elicited a cry of “supercilious wanker” from me if I’d heard someone else say it.
  • (8) Brexit, said Putin, was a result of irritation over Britain subsidising weaker economies, and “the British government’s self-assuredness and supercilious attitude to life-changing decisions in their own country and Europe in general”.
  • (9) I was made to regret it almost immediately when I was loudly condemned as a “supercilious prick”.
  • (10) Shimell's character is very supercilious and unsympathetic – he has a Basil Fawlty-esque fit of temper in a restaurant – and it is not easy to tell if this is deliberate, or if Kiarostami thinks Shimell elegant and cerebral.
  • (11) To others, though, he is at his supercilious worst here; floating the idea that, having withdrawn from the union, Scotland, in its beneficence, can turn round and preach to the English about how to deal with the nasty Tories.
  • (12) Their particular brand of upper class snobbery is now so anachronistic it’s simply amusing: in an obituary this week of Deborah , the writer pointed to a list of the late Duchess of Devonshire’s dislikes, which included but was not limited to “the bits of paper that fall out of magazines; female weather forecasters; the words ‘environment’, ‘conservation’ and ‘leisure’; supercilious assistants at makeup counters; dietary fads; skimmed milk; girls with slouching shoulders and Tony Blair.” And then there are the Nazis.
  • (13) You know when you're out walking and you see a party of riders, and they give you a slightly supercilious look?
  • (14) President Barack Obama is often criticised for superciliousness and arrogance.
  • (15) Now usually it would be advisable to ignore such news and treat in the same way as someone telling you that the sun is "hot and yellow", Piers Morgan is "smug and annoying", Katie Hopkins is "snobbish and supercilious" and the Mill is "tired and emotional" — it's just the way of life.