Definition: noun harsh language or treatment arising from haughtiness and contempt; also : an instance of such language or treatment

Quotation: “These days, with its spinoffs and reruns, the show has become something of a joke itself, risking critical contumely and self-parody by spreading like an oil slick into every unoccupied slot on television.” - from “A ‘Law and Order’ Addict Tells All” in The New York Times

You don’t see this word come up very often, and I can remember when I first noticed it I thought it was a typo. Taken by itself, contumely with its -ly suffix looks like a typical adverb when in fact it is a noun. The pronunciation key on Merriam Webster’s definition elucidates this word further. kän-tü-mu-ly designates an extra vowel that makes it sound less like an adverb meaning “like something that contumes” and more like the anomaly that it really is.