All 8 Uses of
contempt
in
Brave New World
- They had put aside similar childish amusements too recently to be able to watch them now without a touch of contempt.
p. 31..7contempt = disrespect of inferior behavior
- The smile on Bernard Marx's face was contemptuous.
p. 35..9contemptuous = showing a lack of respect
- Dared he face the risk of being humiliated by a contemptuous refusal?
p. 64..1contemptuous = disrespectful
- The mockery made him [Bernard] feel an outsider; and feeling an outsider he behaved like one, which increased the prejudice against him and intensified the contempt and hostility aroused by his physical defects.
p. 65..3 *contempt = disrespect and dislike for being inferior
- Her feeling was evidently reciprocated; the very back of the man, as he walked along before them, was hostile, sullenly contemptuous.
p. 108..1contemptuous = disrespectful
- "But how many?" asked Fanny, shrugging her shoulders contemptuously.
p. 187..9contemptuously = showing disrespect
- "And even if there were," the Savage added, with sudden contemptuous resentment, "people would kill them out of helicopters, I suppose, with poison gas or something."
p. 190..4contemptuous = disrespectful
- Only in Othello's word could he find an adequate vehicle for his contempt and hatred.
p. 219..7contempt = dislike and disrespect
Definition:
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(contempt as in: feels contempt towards her) lack of respect for someone or something thought inferior -- often accompanied by a feeling of dislike or disgusteditor's notes: A famous saying, "familiarity breeds contempt" comes from Aesop's fable, "The Fox and the Lion". (6th century BC)
When first the Fox saw the Lion he was terribly frightened, and ran away and hid himself in the wood. Next time however he came near the King of Beasts he stopped at a safe distance and watched him pass by. The third time they came near one another the Fox went straight up to the Lion and passed the time of day with him, asking him how his family were, and when he should have the pleasure of seeing him again; then turning his tail, he parted from the Lion without much ceremony.
The moral is traditionally, "Familiarity breeds contempt"; though an alternative moral is "Acquaintance softens prejudices."