to turn up one's nose
3
7.5
- idiom
:
despreciar
- She turned up her nose at dishes that used to make her squeal and applaud with delight: deviled eggs, tripe, osso buco.
Examples
-
Nor has he grown so rich from his freelance writing that he would turn up his nose at somebody who wanted to retain him to do more of it.
Fiction book (1995) -
To those of you who turn up your nose at regionally based comfort food, maybe you need to understand how parochial you sound.
Blog text (1) -
And still you turn up your nose at us.
-
You have no right to turn up your nose.
-
If you keep on turning up your nose at every man you'll...
-
Annie Ruth turned up her nose slightly when she saw her father take the orange jar of instant coffee from the cabinet.
Fiction book (1993) -
She turned up her nose at the muted pink packs that she said smelled like toilet bowl cleaner.
Fiction book (1990) -
She turned up her nose and walked away, haughtily condemning the would-be suitor.
Fiction book (1992) -
My sister always turns up her nose at cheap restaurants, preferring to eat at upscale places.
-
He turned up his nose at the idea of wearing a formal suit to the casual gathering.
Synonyms
192
4.9
To strongly dislike and have no respect for someone or something
115
3.5
To show a lack of respect for someone
57
6.5
To say or do things to show you do not respect someone
53
3.7
Think you are better than someone and treat them as less important
51
5.5
To show dislike and no respect for someone or something
39
5.6
Smile or speak to show you do not respect someone
26
7.7
To refuse a person or an offer in a rude way
23
7.8
To feel strong dislike and no respect for someone or something
16
2.3
Give someone a worried or angry look to show you do not like them
15
6.4
To treat a person or thing as not worthy of respect
8
9.2
To show open disrespect by refusing to follow rules or customs
4
6.0
To move the nose so it makes small lines to show you do not like something
To show you do not respect someone by putting your thumb to your nose and wiggling your fingers
To put your thumb on your nose and wiggle your fingers to show disrespect
Act in a way that shows strong disrespect and insults someone
To move your eyes away from someone to show you are annoyed or do not believe them
Antonyms
How Dismissive
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derivable from the literal image of physically turning one’s nose upward as a gesture of disdain: 'turn' (move), 'up' (toward a higher position) and 'nose' (the facial feature) combine to evoke a contemptuous gesture. This gesture-based, compositional link is common across languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would very likely infer the idiomatic meaning.
Etymology
The idiom turn up one's nose comes from the simple gesture of lifting the nose and upper lip as if smelling something they do not like. So, when someone turns up their nose at an idea or a thing, they show 'dislike' or 'look down on' it.