Despicable means so mean, low, or cruel that it deserves contempt and disgust. When someone does something despicable, they act in a way that makes others lose all respect for them.

A despicable act might be stealing money from a charity, bullying someone weaker, or betraying a friend's trust for personal gain. What makes something despicable is that it reveals terrible character: selfishness, cruelty, or cowardice.

The word carries strong moral weight. Calling someone's behavior despicable means you find it beneath the standards of decent human behavior. A student who frames an innocent classmate for something they didn't do commits a despicable act. A leader who lies to people who trusted them acts despicably.

Despicable perfectly captures what we feel toward such actions: we look down on them with disgust. When you encounter despicable behavior, you're witnessing someone choosing to be worse than they could be, acting without honor or basic decency.