CONTEMPTUOUS, CONTEMPTIBLE

INTRODUCTORY MATERIAL

Read and translate the following sentences paying special atten-.tion to the words in bold type.

1. He’s irritable, impatient... rather contemptuous of what I say or do. 2. She wondered whether his sarcastic manner, with its contemptuous tolerance for so many persons and things she admired, was merely a facade to conceal a profound weakness. 3. Madelone Leroy sat at luncheon, cool, almost contemptuous of the looks levelled at her. 4. He sat by the side of Vanamee, who ate but little, preferring rather to watch the scene with calm observation, a little contemptuous when the uproar around the table was too boisterous. 5. If Mr Pott had a weakness, it was, per­haps, that he was rather too submissive to the somewhat contemptuous control and sway of his wife. 6. Mr Jingle only answered with a contemptuous smile, and replied to his menaces by a shout of triumph. 7. Fabermacher was contemptuous with an intensity that removed his attitude from any trace of childishness. 8. «I know that you’re callous and heartless, I know that you’re selfish, selfish beyond words, and I know that you haven’t the nerve of a rabbit, I know you’re a liar and a humbug, I know that you’re utterly contemptible. And the tragic part is» — her face was on a sudden distraught with pain, — «the tragic part is that notwithstanding I love you with all my heart.» 9. It was trickery of the most contemptible order, a thing he believed to be unknown to the old school of politics and statesmanship to which he was proud to belong. 10. It seemed to her faintly contemptible that he who was so timid of saying absurd things, who so feared to be ridiculous, should use baby talk.

EXPLANATORY NOTES

Contemptuous ajd. Scornful, disdainful, e.g. a ~ look; a ~ manner; with an air of ~ indifference. Derivative: contemptuously adv.

Contemptible adj. Despicable; worthless; mean, e.g. a ~ fellow; a ~ conduct.

Derivative: contemptibly adv.

The difference between contemptuous and contemptible is absolutely clear-cut thanks to the use of: different adjective-forming suffixes. However, these adjectives are sometimes confused by Russian learners because of the identity of the root word. Contemptuous implies showing contempt while contemptible suggests deserving or provoking contempt. (Compare the Russian adjectives: презрительный and презренный, which are also derived from the same word with the help of different suffixes.)