All 4 Uses of
contempt
in
1984 by Orwell
- I know all about your contempt, your hatred, your disgust.
p. 17..6contempt = disrespect and dislike
- It preaches a contempt for the working class unexampled for centuries past, and it dresses its members in a uniform which was at one time peculiar to manual workers and was adopted for that reason.
p. 216..4contempt = disrespect
- 'The polits,' they called them, with a sort of uninterested contempt.
p. 228..4
- It was only a momentary glance, full of contempt and dislike.
p. 291..9 *
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."