Literary notes about odious (AI summary)
Writers employ “odious” to evoke a sense of deep repulsion or moral disgust, using it to color both characters and circumstances with abject negativity. In historical narratives, for instance, the term underscores political revulsion and denunciation, as seen when Gibbon portrays certain reigns or behaviors unworthy of admiration ([1], [2]). In fiction, it is applied to individuals and environments, whether to express a character’s personal regret over having become hateful ([3]) or to depict menacing traits in villains and unsavory companions ([4], [5]). Philosophers and essayists alike harness the term to illustrate the inherent detestation of certain ideas or practices, highlighting the stark contrast between beauty and moral decay ([6], [7]). Thus, “odious” proves versatile in literature, encapsulating both the physical and moral repugnance that enriches narrative tension and critical commentary.
- 98 Viewing it in that odious light, it had been rejected with abhorrence by the first Caesars.
— from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon - 2 The design of extirpating the name, or at least of restraining the progress, of these odious Heretics, was prosecuted with vigor and effect.
— from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon - But I acted foolishly in making myself odious to you.
— from The Works of the Emperor Julian, Vol. 2 by Emperor of Rome Julian - He was becoming a thief once more, and the most odious of thieves!
— from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo - But I dare not stir without my odious, hideous, vulgar gaoler, the horrid Irishwoman, who pursues my every step.
— from Barry Lyndon by William Makepeace Thackeray - Christiern II. was afterwards deposed from the throne of Denmark, where his conduct had rendered him as odious as in Sweden.
— from An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith - The succeeding part of these memoirs will explain this odious conspiracy.
— from The Confessions of Jean Jacques Rousseau — Complete by Jean-Jacques Rousseau