to take a dim view
3
5.6
- idiom
- The locals might take a dim view.
Examples
-
It is not surprising, therefore, that they tend to take a dim view of these statements.
Academic text (1998) -
China traditionally takes a dim view of both U.S. and UN intervention, even against allegedly outlaw states.
Academic text (2003) -
The county takes a dim view of everything.
-
As one might expect, he takes a dim view of the project.
Academic text (1999) -
Even I took a dim view of that.
Fiction book (1996) -
Many courts, however, will take a dim view of an agreement that looks like a penalty.
Academic text (1994) -
Neither China nor Burma is democratic, and both take a dim view of dissent.
Academic text (1998) -
As I recall, Edith takes a dim view of social frivolity.
-
The Internal Revenue Service has taken a dim view of tax shelters for some time, and the Tax Reform Act of 1986 put a crimp on them by restricting the way taxpayers may declare losses from them.
Academic text (2002) -
The council took a dim view of the proposal to increase taxes.
Synonyms
94
2.9
To think something is wrong or bad and show it
23
4.2
To think something is not acceptable
14
3.9
To show that you do not approve of something, often for social or official reasons
Antonyms
How Disapproving
298
4.0
94
2.9
14
3.9
3
5.6
56
3.2
Surface Forms
Morphology
The components map onto the idiom's sense: 'take' = adopt/hold, 'view' = opinion, and 'dim' can be metaphorically extended to mean 'low' or 'poor', so a learner could infer 'hold a low opinion'. However, the use of the visual adjective 'dim' to signal disapproval is a metaphorical extension that may not be immediately obvious to a B1 learner without prior exposure, so comprehension is partial rather than fully transparent.
Etymology
The idiom take a dim view comes from the image of looking at something in poor light: when you have a dim view you cannot see details and so you notice faults. That's why to take a dim view of something means 'to disapprove'.