All 6 Uses of
contempt
in
Howards End
- My blood boils—well, I 'm half German, so put it down to patriotism—when I listen to the tasteful contempt of the average islander for things Teutonic, whether they're Bocklin or my veterinary surgeon.
Part 9contempt = lack of respect
- "Yes, indeed," nodded Evie, a little contemptuously.
Part 16 *contemptuously = with disrespect
- Mr. Wilcox glanced at Parliament contemptuously.
Part 18
- Her surface could always respond to his without contempt, though all her deeper being might be yearning to help him.
Part 26contempt = lack of respect
- Perhaps it was Helen's way of falling in love—a curious way to Margaret, whose agony and whose contempt of Henry were yet imprinted with his image.
Part 40
- He pitied her with nobility now—not the contemptuous pity of a man who sticks to a woman through thick and thin.
Part 41contemptuous = showing a lack of respect
Definition:
-
(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."