misprize

A scholar misprizes the old manuscript, setting it aside without reading.

Definition

1. Verb:
   • To undervalue or despise: "misprize" means to regard something or someone as less valuable or important than they truly are, often accompanied by contempt or disdain.
   • To fail to appreciate: To overlook the true worth or significance of something, typically due to prejudice, ignorance, or neglect.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Many critics misprize his early work, focusing only on his later failures. (They undervalue and dismiss his early achievements.)
  • She felt misprized by her colleagues, who treated her ideas with contempt. (She was regarded with disdain and underestimated.)
  • Do not misprize the contributions of volunteers; their efforts are essential. (Do not undervalue or despise their work.)

Advanced Usage

• "to misprize someone's efforts": to show contempt for or undervalue someone's hard work.

  • The manager misprized the team's dedication, leading to low morale. (He despised or failed to appreciate their commitment.)

• "to be misprized by history": to be underestimated or disregarded by historical accounts.

  • The inventor was misprized by history, with his innovations only recognized centuries later. (He was undervalued and ignored by later generations.)

Variants and Related Words

• Misprizable (adj): capable of being undervalued or despised.

  • His talents are not misprizable; they deserve recognition. (His talents cannot be easily undervalued.)

• Misprizement (n): the act or state of undervaluing or despising.

  • The misprizement of her work was a source of great frustration. (The undervaluation of her work caused distress.)

Synonyms

• Underestimate: to assess as less valuable than the true worth.
• Disdain: to regard with contempt or scorn.
• Neglect: to fail to give proper attention or value.
• Belittle: to make someone or something seem unimportant.

Phrasal Verbs

• Misprize as: to undervalue or despise by categorizing in a certain way.

  • He misprized her advice as trivial. (He regarded it with contempt, thinking it unimportant.)

• Misprize for: to undervalue or despise due to a particular reason.

  • They misprized him for his humble origins. (They despised him because of his background.)

Related Idioms

• To hold in low esteem: to have a poor opinion of someone or something.

  • The community held the corrupt official in low esteem, misprizing his authority. (They despised and undervalued him.)

• To cast aside as worthless: to reject or dismiss something as having no value.

  • She cast aside his apology as worthless, misprizing his sincerity. (She despised and undervalued his attempt to make amends.)