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Literary notes about abominable (AI summary)

The word "abominable" is often employed in literature to underscore moral revulsion, social disapproval, and even physical repugnance. It appears as a descriptor for unsavoury conduct, from the condemnation of immoral behaviors and tyranny ([1], [2]) to the portrayal of disreputable spaces and practices ([3], [4]). In some narratives, it serves as a forceful qualifier to express disdain for abstract qualities such as conceit or corrupt ideologies ([5], [6]), while in religious or historical texts it highlights what is viewed as inherently wicked or sacrilegious ([7], [8]). Overall, "abominable" functions not only as an adjective of disgust but also as a tool to reinforce moral boundaries and societal values, as seen in various literary traditions from Shakespeare to contemporary novels ([9], [10]).
  1. thou most detestable, abominable Passive Obedience!
    — from The History of John Bull by John Arbuthnot
  2. I look upon you, sir, as a man who has placed himself beyond the pale of society, by his most audacious, disgraceful, and abominable public conduct.
    — from The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens
  3. The smoking-room, too, is an abominable little den.
    — from Howards End by E. M. Forster
  4. By your laws, all these abominable resorts are permitted.
    — from History of Woman Suffrage, Volume I
  5. “You think you’re so holy and truthful, but really it’s only abominable conceit.
    — from A Room with a View by E. M. Forster
  6. “All I can say is,” said I, “your system is an abominable one.
    — from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova
  7. They are corrupt, and are become abominable in their ways: there is none that doth good, no not one.
    — from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete
  8. And I sent to you all my servants the prophets, rising early, and sending, and saying: Do not commit this abominable thing, which I hate.
    — from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete
  9. Believe me, Queen, your swarth Cimmerian Doth make your honour of his body's hue, Spotted, detested, and abominable.
    — from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
  10. 470.)—The last abomination of the abominable slave-trade!
    — from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon

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