patronizing 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of patronizingnext
as in condescending

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patronizing

2 of 2

verb

present participle of patronize
1
as in cutting
to assume or treat with an air of superiority a director with an unpleasant habit of patronizing even his most gifted actors

Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in endorsing
to promote the interests or cause of a company that loyally patronizes the arts

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of patronizing
Adjective
Attempts have been so grand as to come off as wildly patronizing. — Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 14 May 2026 John’s patronizing, congratulatory tone with regard to Weisz’s character’s dalliance with Vlad doesn’t help. — Meg Walters, Glamour, 9 Mar. 2026
Verb
The Green family started patronizing the restaurant in the 1980s. — Ashley MacKin Solomon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 May 2026 Trade school is often talked about as an alternative to a four-year degree, but the discourse can be patronizing, with jobs in construction framed as an off-ramp for the kids who can’t cut it in real college. — Emma Green, New Yorker, 17 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for patronizing
Recent Examples of Synonyms for patronizing
  1. condescending
  2. cutting
  3. endorsing
  4. domineering
  5. advocating
  6. dominant
  7. supporting
  8. disdainful
Adjective
  • Murdoch is thick-skinned and accustomed to being underestimated by the condescending Brits, who see him as a crass interloper.
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Ahead of his team’s clash with Australia, Turkey captain Hakan Çalhanoğlu completely dismissed his opponent in a surprisingly honest and condescending assessment.
    — Tom Bogert, New York Times, 16 June 2026
Definition of condescending
Verb
  • This change is apparent in the fact that European governments, too, are cutting funding for religious freedom advocacy.
    — Matthew Schmitz, Washington Post, 2 Oct. 2026
  • In a sign of growing staff unrest over the steady stream of cost-cutting announcements across the BBC, some workers made their feelings known on a Microsoft Teams call earlier this week.
    — Jake Kanter, Deadline, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of cutting
Verb
  • The group is not specifically endorsing or looking to knock down any specific bills in Congress yet, Handa said.
    — Ashley Gold, semafor.com, 7 Oct. 2026
  • In September, videos on X purported to show Leonardo DiCaprio and a bunch of other actors endorsing a campaign urging Americans not to vote for Democrats in November.
    — Maxwell Adler, Vanity Fair, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of endorsing
Adjective
  • Sources said Gunning plays Annie, a quietly dutiful wife who has sacrificed her ambitions to raise four sons under her domineering husband, Duncan.
    — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Fern proves himself as a true actor’s director, offering plum roles to Paulson, Watts and two-time Oscar winner Dianne Wiest as their chaotic and domineering mother.
    — David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of domineering
Verb
  • Lauren Oto Lauren Oto is advocating for Sacramento’s small businesses while working to broaden diversity in leadership.
    — The Sacramento Bee staff, Sacbee.com, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Part of this has come about as a result of retail brokerages advocating for their customers to get first dibs on IPO stocks, rather than having to buy the shares at a premium from the connected clients of big banks.
    — Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of advocating
Adjective
  • One is reminded of Toni Morrison, whose refusal to pander to the dominant gaze — whose insistence on writing about Black characters without regard for whoever else might be reading — unlocked its own kind of universality.
    — Sam Worley, Vulture, 5 Oct. 2026
  • However, the iMac's M4 chip performed better in both single-core contests (representative of the most basic tasks) and Adobe Photoshop, where Macs have been dominant for years.
    — Michael Justin Allen Sexton, PC Magazine, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of dominant
Verb
  • Ahead of the premiere’s conclusion, Variety exclusively reported that Neon’s awards campaign for the film will include Garfield and Rylance competing in the supporting actor category and Borisov campaigning in lead actor.
    — Payton Turkeltaub, Variety, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Service is low-key but practical, with staff supporting both wellness programming and basic logistics like airport pickups.
    — CNT Editors, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of supporting
Adjective
  • As Cusk has become more disdainful of fiction and more insistent on the documentary function of art, her work has become vaguer and less concrete, fading like old ink into blurred indeterminacy.
    — Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 16 Aug. 2026
  • It was delivered with sneers, an ugly, small-minded few minutes in support of the sclerotic, disdainful of dynamic change.
    — Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 25 July 2026
Definition of disdainful

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Cite this Entry

“Patronizing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/patronizing. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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