Literary notes about Grudging (AI summary)
The term “grudging” is frequently employed in literature to evoke a sense of reluctance or unwillingness, whether in actions, emotions, or gestures. Writers use it to describe characters who bestow favor, consent, or admiration only with evident hesitation—as seen when rites are performed with minimal ceremony ([1]) or when a character’s tone reveals a reluctant agreement ([2], [3]). It also colors interpersonal relationships and internal dispositions, suggesting a reserved or even embittered attitude toward giving or receiving, such as in manifestations of grudging consent or admiration ([4], [5], [6]). This nuanced use deepens character complexity by underscoring the tension between duty or affection and a hard-to-overcome reluctance to fully engage or commit ([7], [8], [9]).
- But as concerning the dead, I give you leave to burn them, for when men are once dead there should be no grudging them the rites of fire.
— from The Iliad by Homer - "Well, to a certain extent, yes," was the grudging reply.
— from The Riddle of the Purple Emperor by Mary E. Hanshew - She simply laughed at her father, and in the end he had to yield a grudging consent to her remaining in the room.
— from The Mikado Jewel by Fergus Hume - I don’t mind acknowledging to you that I’ve got rather a grudging disposition, and want to keep off all intruders.
— from David Copperfield by Charles Dickens - This person, however, improved on acquaintance, and Ralph grew at last to have a certain grudging tolerance, even an undemonstrative respect, for him.
— from The Portrait of a Lady — Volume 1 by Henry James - “He's a loyal kid, at that,” Burke commented, with a grudging admiration.
— from Within the Law: From the Play of Bayard Veiller by Bayard Veiller - Yes, I can work as hard as he can, and with as little grudging.
— from Jane Eyre: An Autobiography by Charlotte Brontë - And I’m never a bit grudging about paying compliments to other girls when they deserve them.
— from Anne of the Island by L. M. Montgomery - When at length he realized the truth, a sense of grudging admiration stole over him.
— from Under Boy Scout Colors by Joseph Bushnell Ames
