English Vocabulary – look down upon

Have you ever looked down upon your exam? If so, beware.

look down upon/look down on

Meaning- to think of someone or something as unimportant /unworthy of respect/inferior to oneself and behave in an arrogant manner or to be situated so as to provide a view of something from above

Origin- This expression dates back to the year 1700. During this period there were only two classes of people- the lords (the wealthy) and the peasants(farmers) (the poor) in U. K. The lords looked down upon/looked down on the peasant class and treated them with contempt.

Explanation-Mr. Das’s family lived in an apartment in Mumbai. The living room looked down upon/looked down on a children’s playground. He had two sons, Deepak and Dinesh. Deepak always looked down upon /looked down on the advice given by his parents. Mr. Das was always well dressed when he went to the office. He looked down upon/looked down on anyone of his colleagues who wasn’t. Mrs. Das never looked down upon/looked down on the poor. She offered help to the needy in whatever way she could. Dinesh loved trekking and after reaching a hill top looked down upon/ looked down on the scenic view it offered.