Legal Definition and Related Resources of Contempt

Meaning of Contempt

A wilful disregard or disobedience of public authority . An act of despising, feeling with which one regards that which is esteemed low, vile or worthless . It consists of four elements namely (1) existence of an order ; (2) knowledge of order; (3) inability to comply with the order; and (4) wilful or contumacious disobedience. See Hanisch v Hanisch, (S.DJ273 N. W.2d 188. See contempt of court .

Contempt Alternative Definition

A willful disregard or disobedience of a public authority, whether judicial or legislative. Contempts are either (1) civil or (2) criminal.
(1) Civil contempts are those quasi contempts which consist in failing to do some-, thing which the contemnor is ordered to do for the benefit of another party to a proceeding before the court; while
(2) Criminal contempts are all acts in disrespect of the court or of its process obstructing the administration of justice generally, and tending to bring the court into disrepute. Rapalje, Contempt, § 21; 11 Fla. 184; 4 Keyes (N. Y.) 46. Contempts are also classified as
(3) Direct contempts, being those committed in the presence of the court or so near as to disturb its proceedings; and
(4) Constructive contempts, being those arising from matters not transpiring in court. Rapalje, Contempt, § 23.

Synonyms of Contempt

(Disdain), noun

abhorrence
abomination
animosity
arrogance
aspersion
aversion
condemnation
contemptuousness
contemptus
contumely
debasement
defilement
denigration
denunciation
deprecation
depreciation
derision
derogation
detestation
detraction
disapprobation
disapproval
disdainfulness
disesteem
disfavor
disgust
dislike
disparagement
dispraise
disregard
disrepute
disvaluation
fastidiwn
imprecation
incivility
indignant aversion
infamy
insolence
malediction
misprision
objurgation
obloquy
odium
opposure
opprobrium
rebuff
reproach
reprobation
reproof
reproval
repugnance
revilement
revulsion
ridicule
scorn
scurrilityforeign phrases: Qui contemnit praeceptum contemnit praecipientem
He who contemns a precept contemns the party who gives it

(Disobedience to the court), noun

audacity
contemptuous resistance
contumaciousness
contumacy
contumely
defiance of orders
deprecation
dereliction
disaffection
disobedience
disposition to resist
disregard of orders
disrespect
disrespectfulness
dissension
encroachment
fractiousness
impertinence
improbity
impudence
indiscipline
indocility
infringement
inobservance
insolence
insubmission
insubordination
intractableness
irreverence
nonadherence
noncompliance
noncooperation
nonobservance
obstinacy
obstructionism
perverseness
recalcitrance
recusancy
refractoriness
refusal to obey orders
reproach
repudiation
repulsion
resistance
resistance to authority
restiveness
rudeness
undutifulness
unobservanceunrulinessunsubmissiveness
unwillingness
violation of orders
willful disregard Associated Concepts: aggravated contempt
civil contempt
commonlaw contempt
constructive contempt
contempt of court
continuing contempt
criminal contempt
evasive contempt
judicial contempt
obstruction of justice
summary contempt

Related Entries of Contempt in the Encyclopedia of Law Project

Browse or run a search for Contempt in the American Encyclopedia of Law, the Asian Encyclopedia of Law, the European Encyclopedia of Law, the UK Encyclopedia of Law or the Latin American and Spanish Encyclopedia of Law.

Contempt in Historical Law

You might be interested in the historical meaning of this term. Browse or search for Contempt in Historical Law in the Encyclopedia of Law.

Legal Abbreviations and Acronyms

Search for legal acronyms and/or abbreviations containing Contempt in the Legal Abbreviations and Acronyms Dictionary.

Related Legal Terms

You might be also interested in these legal terms:

Mentioned in these terms

Civil Contempt, Contempt Of Court, Contumacy, Indirect Contempt, Libel, Misprison, Purge, Rebellion, Sedition, Sequestration, Slander.

Translate Contempt from English to Spanish

Translation of Contempt, with examples. More about free online translation into Spanish of Desacato and other legal terms is available here.

Desacato
Legal English Translation

Browse

You might be interested in these references tools:

Resource	Description
Contempt in the Dictionary	Contempt in our legal dictionaries
Browse the Legal Thesaurus	Find synonyms and related words of Contempt
Legal Maxims	Maxims are established principles that jurists use as interpretive tools, invoked more frequently in international law
Legal Answers (Q&A)	A community-driven knowledge creation process, of enduring value to a broad audience
Related topics	Contempt in the World Encyclopedia of Law

Notice

This definition of Contempt is based on the The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary . This entry needs to be proofread.

Vocabularies (Semantic Web Information)

Resource	Description
Topic Map	A group of names, occurrences and associations
Topic Tree	A topic display format, showing the hierarchy
Sitemap Index	Sitemap Index, including Taxonomies
https://legaldictionary.lawin.org/contempt/	The URI of Contempt (more about URIs)

Meaning of Contempt in Spanish

Description/ translation of contempt into Spanish: desacato, desobediencia; contempt citation: orden de comparecer por desacato; contempt to the court: desacato al tribunal[1]

Note: for more information on related terms and on the area of law where contempt belongs (criminal procedure law), in Spanish, see here.

Notes and References

Translation of Contempt published by Antonio Peñaranda

Contempt