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What does condescension mean?

Condescension is a way of interacting with others that implies that you’re superior to them. It especially refers to when this is done in an arrogant or patronizing way—meaning when you act as if you’re doing someone a favor by supposedly lowering yourself to their level of understanding or intelligence.Condescension often involves not only what is said but also how it’s said. A tone of condescension is often one that sounds like it’s directed at a child.Condescension is a noun form of the verb condescend, which most commonly means to behave in this way. When used this way, condescend, condescension, and the adjective condescending are always negative and imply that such behavior is insulting to the person or people it’s directed toward.Condescend can also mean to stoop to a lower level or to do something that one considers as below one's dignity. A close synonym of this sense of the word is deign. Condescension can also mean the act of doing so.Example: His opinion piece is dripping with condescension—it’s written as if no one else is capable of understanding.