🇬🇧 Condescending meaning: English Vocabulary Flash Card

Condescending means acting like you are above other people and talking to them in a way that makes them feel small or silly. A condescending person might use a slow, fake-nice voice, explain very simple things as if the other person is a baby, or roll their eyes like, “Wow, you don’t know that?” It’s not just what they say, but how they say it—like they think they are a king and everyone else is a clueless servant.

The condescending GPS said, “Recalculating… again,” like it was deeply disappointed in my sense of direction.

My older cousin gave me a condescending pat on the head and said, “Someday you’ll understand fractions,” so I asked him to explain taxes.

The robot spoke in a condescending tone, saying, “This is a button. You press it. With your finger. If you can manage that.”

The condescending princess told the knight, “Good job not falling off your horse, that’s step one of not being useless.”

The dragon gave a condescending snort when the knight screamed, “I forgot my sword,” like it was used to dealing with amateurs.

A boy glues a paper boat. His aunt gives a thin smile and a condescending comment. She speaks condescending advice, taps the boat with a condescending hand, and offers condescending fixes. The boy breathes, adjusts, sails the perfect boat, and her condescending face turns to quiet surprise as he smiles and walks away proud.

This word is at the C2 level, which means it represents the highest mastery of English. It’s often used in specialized or highly formal contexts and helps you communicate with precision and subtlety, much like a native speaker.

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