The quality or state of being insulting, disrespectful, or treating someone with contempt.
From 'contumelious' (the adjective) plus the suffix '-ness' to create an abstract noun. The base 'contumelia' comes from Latin, referring to public insult or abuse. The suffix -ness transforms qualities into countable concepts.
In court cases and formal complaints, 'contumeliousness' describes the deliberate insult—it's not just that someone was rude, but that they went out of their way to demean you. Victorian lawyers loved this word because it captures premeditated rudeness.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.