What's the difference between disdain and magnanimity?

Disdain


Definition:

  • (v. t.) A feeling of contempt and aversion; the regarding anything as unworthy of or beneath one; scorn.
  • (v. t.) That which is worthy to be disdained or regarded with contempt and aversion.
  • (v. t.) The state of being despised; shame.
  • (v. t.) To think unworthy; to deem unsuitable or unbecoming; as, to disdain to do a mean act.
  • (v. t.) To reject as unworthy of one's self, or as not deserving one's notice; to look with scorn upon; to scorn, as base acts, character, etc.
  • (v. i.) To be filled with scorn; to feel contemptuous anger; to be haughty.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) People praying, voicing their views and heart, were met with disdain and a level of force exceeding what was needed.
  • (2) Fred had to be substituted to shield him from the crowd’s disdain.
  • (3) It may have been like punk never ‘appened, but you caught a whiff of the movement’s scorched earth puritanism in the mocking disdain with which Smash Hits addressed rock-star hedonism.
  • (4) TV's Jeremy Paxman didn't even bother hiding his disdain for the introduction of weather reports to Newsnight – "It's April.
  • (5) It shows that we still have some way to go to end bigoted banter.” The exchange was also met with disdain on Twitter.
  • (6) He has frequently tested the patience of Japan's conservative sumo authorities with his disdain for the rules of engagement in the ring and his bad behaviour off it.
  • (7) His comic adventures are too many to relate, but it may be said that they culminate in a café of 'singing waiters' where, after a wealth of comic 'business' with the tray, he shows his disdain for articulate speech by singing a vividly explicit song in gibberish.
  • (8) Immigration has been used as a 21st-century incomes policy, mixing a liberal sense of free for all with a free-market disdain for clear and effective rules.
  • (9) Riva, the oldest nominee ever for best actress category, has a very Gallic disdain for such public adulation.
  • (10) "Historians will pore over his many speeches to black audiences," wrote Ta-Nahisi Coates at The Atlantic, and "they will see a president who sought to hold black people accountable for their communities, but was disdainful of those who looked at him and sought the same".
  • (11) Born in July 1954, Christopher Murray Paul-Huhne (his surname until he went to Oxford) has always been something of a Marmite politician, attracting both loyalty and affection, as well as brickbats and disdain.
  • (12) Gil Eliyahu, who stopped working for Binyamin and Sara Netanyahu two and a half years ago, is threatening to sue the couple, claiming he was treated with "humiliating" disdain.
  • (13) It was one of at least half a dozen such unionist experiments, with a variety of partners, which foundered on the rocks of the would-be partners' infirmity of purpose, fear, suspicion and disdain of this bizarre, arrogant, impetuous upstart.
  • (14) Safronkov reserved his fiercest disdain for the UK envoy, Matthew Rycroft, who had said that UK scientists had determined that sarin had been used in the Khan Sheikhun attack and called on Russia to cut ties with Assad, who Rycroft said was bringing Moscow only “shame and humiliation”.
  • (15) The rules extended from healthcare to the environment to workplace safety, but all were grounded in Bush's disdain for the government's role as a regulatory authority.
  • (16) Stevenson did not disdain the genre in which he was operating.
  • (17) Issues Sir Ken, on the other hand, is a professional Yorkshireman and farmer - the sort of chap who prefers to call a retail outlet a shop and treated press and City with equal disdain.
  • (18) The pent-up fury of the parents reflected the intensity of the violent protests that marked a dramatic week in Mexico, which has deepened the political crisis facing President Enrique Peña Nieto as he returns from a week-long trip to China and Australia, seen by many as a sign of disdain for the suffering and anger at home.
  • (19) What is clear now, for those for whom it was ever in doubt, is the reality of Tory values: the disdain with which they view the less fortunate and the reason why the annual cull of the impoverished through malnutrition and hypothermia is not a problem to them.
  • (20) Instead – spoiler alert – to the disdain of many, it opted for a more satisfying, upbeat conclusion.

Magnanimity


Definition:

  • (n.) The quality of being magnanimous; greatness of mind; elevation or dignity of soul; that quality or combination of qualities, in character, which enables one to encounter danger and trouble with tranquility and firmness, to disdain injustice, meanness and revenge, and to act and sacrifice for noble objects.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) One is the stubborn mystery of how a giant of its liberation movements, an intellectual who showed forgiveness and magnanimity years before Mandela emerged from jail, could turn into the living caricature of despotism.
  • (2) "He makes the superb point that the London Olympics would be a perfect opportunity for Britain to magnanimously put an end to what Greeks and the majority of people in the EU, including the UK, see as a historical wrongdoing."
  • (3) The city claims to be the richest and most exciting on Earth, in which case it can show magnanimity.
  • (4) I understand that the football world will say that Barcelona is stronger, that they are the favourites, this does not offend me," he added, magnanimously accepting that the palpably superior side are indeed palpably superior to his team.
  • (5) Amid the celebrations, held in front of a strange mix of celebrities that included Andy Murray, Danny Cipriani, Dynamo the magician and Katie Price, Haye was magnanimous enough to praise Chisora's durability and what he described as "one of the best chins" he has faced.
  • (6) Hopefully we’ve done that tonight.” John Herdman, Canada’s English coach proved magnanimous in defeat.
  • (7) Many in this country of 50 million people view Mandela, who led the African National Congress to power, as a father figure and an icon of integrity and magnanimity amid the nation's increasingly messy politics.
  • (8) But the public and the press should know that these disclosures aren’t some act of government magnanimity – their hand was forced by organizations like EFF, ACLU, and Epic that have been trying to pry this information loose for years.” Stepanovich, now a lawyer with the digital and human rights group Access, gave a similar assessment.
  • (9) The victors have the responsibility to act magnanimously.
  • (10) Both worked for Disney, so naturally were rooting for Newsies and Peter and the Starcatcher but magnanimously conceded that "we did go see Once today and it's a great show".
  • (11) The man of peace shows no magnanimity in his great victory .
  • (12) On the day of victory, Michael Foot was magnanimous enough to congratulate her after she had borne a huge burden of responsibility pretty much alone.
  • (13) It’s for all the men who don’t know which of their kind and magnanimous actions could be interpreted as sexist, creepy or inappropriate: Telling a junior female staff member that she has “piercing eyes” is a sexist act.
  • (14) The hearing was attended by five members of his victim's family, who, with majestic magnanimity, were there to petition for his death sentence to be commuted.
  • (15) The ministers preparing to defy Cameron and George Osborne and campaign for Brexit are certainly not banking on magnanimity on 24 June.
  • (16) Mr Pope was the first American to be sentenced for espionage in Russia for 40 years, though Mr Putin promptly displayed magnanimity and pardoned him.
  • (17) "Now China can be magnanimous and say it is acting in solidarity with its brothers and sisters in Africa [who will benefit from the money], and that it is not going to stand in the way of a deal," he said.
  • (18) He may yet feel magnanimous again, but right now it's sensitive.
  • (19) When I gently indicated my awareness of this person's altered state, the result was a magnanimous offer to share.
  • (20) He doesn’t need too much space to have shots.” Laurent Blanc, the magnanimous PSG manager, credited the home side for getting through the tie.