Change 'contempt' into its correct adjective form

Question

Accepted Answer

The correct option is 4:

The noun "contempt" refers to the feeling that a person or a thing is beneath consideration, worthless, or deserving scorn. To change a noun into an adjective, we typically add a suffix that indicates the quality of being subject to, or capable of, the action or state described by the noun. The standard and historically correct adjective form of "contempt" is formed by adding the suffix "-ible," resulting in "contemptible." This adjective means deserving contempt; despicable. This adherence to the established morphological patterns of English is why "contemptible" is the only correct spelling and is the term used in standard English vocabulary to describe someone or something that warrants utter disdain or scorn.

The incorrect option is 1: "contempteble" is incorrect. This is simply a misspelling. The addition of the extra 'e' before the '-ble' suffix does not conform to the accepted spelling convention for forming adjectives from the base word "contempt."

The incorrect option is 2: "contemptable" is incorrect. While the suffix "-able" is frequently used to form adjectives meaning "capable of" or "worthy of," the specific root word "contempt" takes the suffix "-ible." Using "-able" instead of "-ible" creates a non-standard and incorrect spelling.

The incorrect option is 3: "contemptiable" is incorrect. This form introduces an unnecessary 'i' before the standard suffix, making it another spelling error. Neither the sequence '-tiable' nor this specific arrangement is recognized as the correct adjective form derived from the noun "contempt."