Patronize

Patronize is my favorite word. The definition juxtaposes kindness and superiority. Behavior that is superiority angers me. Apparent kindness and actual superiority mix unexpectedly. The definition exemplifies richness in the English language.

“LTK patronizes me.”

The Oxford English Dictionary:

patronize transitive. To assume an air of superiority towards; to treat or speak about (a person, etc.) condescendingly, esp. with apparent indulgence or kindness.

AI:

A patronizing person may treat someone as if that someone needs to be helped. The patronizing person may believe that the patronized person is less knowledgeable about the latter person’s situation in life than is the person doing the patronizing.

First use: 1820. “Feeling much the same awkward condescending disposition to patronise these first crude attempts at poetry and lispings of the Muse.” W. Hazlitt, Lectures Dramatic Literature 10.