What's the difference "hate" and "despise" and "contempt"? Are they interchangeable?

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

"Hate" means to feel intense or passionate dislike towards someone or something. "Despise" means to feel a strong dislike for someone or something because you think that that person or thing is bad or has no value. "Contempt" means a strong feeling of disliking and having no respect for someone or something. These words are fairly similar in meaning and fairly interchangeable, but the word "despise" has a stronger meaning than "hate" or "contempt." I'm unsure about British English, but in American English, we often don't use "contempt." We use "hate" and "despise" when we dislike someone or something. Ex: I hate her! She is so mean to everyone. Ex: In the musical West Side Story, the Sharks and the Jets despise each other. Ex: She treats everyone with contempt.

How do native speakers use this expression?

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04/23

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