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Literary notes about begrudgingly (AI summary)

The adverb "begrudgingly" often appears in literature to underscore a character’s reluctance or implicit resentment when fulfilling an obligation or complying with a demand. It suggests that an action is carried out not out of enthusiasm but rather under duress or with internal conflict. For instance, its use can evoke a sense of moral or emotional constraint, as when a character is led into an uninviting situation with palpable resistance [1] or when a personal sacrifice is made against one’s natural inclinations [2]. In other narratives, it helps highlight hesitant compliance, whether during a physical journey through rugged terrain [3] or in a begrudging act of affirmation within dialogue [4, 5]. Overall, the word enriches the text by revealing the underlying ambivalence of characters who act not out of willingness but from necessity or external pressure.
  1. Chained again, and guarded like a murderer, Jason was begrudgingly led into the dark interior, the contents of which was depressingly anticlimactic.
    — from The Ethical Engineer by Harry Harrison
  2. He sacrificed himself to the family interests, but he sacrificed himself begrudgingly.
    — from The Voice of the People by Ellen Anderson Gholson Glasgow
  3. The hills carried them begrudgingly to a valley.
    — from Dick Kent with the Malemute Mail by M. M. (Milo Milton) Oblinger
  4. "Oh, the Packards are men," said Terry begrudgingly, "even if they are pirates!" This to her father and, it is to be suspected, for her father's sake.
    — from Man to Man by Jackson Gregory
  5. Besides, she admitted to herself, begrudgingly, that she had never known a man dance as this man danced, and the magic of the waltz was on her.
    — from Six Feet Four by Jackson Gregory

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