Phrase guide

familiarity breeds contempt

proverb · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

proverb

Meaning 1

A prolonged closeness or exposure or a profound knowledge of someone or something often leads to diminished respect or appreciation.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: the more one learns about people, the more one likes one's pet

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

12 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Finnish: tuttua on helpompi inhota — if you know someone very well, you stop respecting them
  • Galician: a confianza dá noxo — if you know someone very well, you stop respecting them
  • Hindi: घर की मुर्ग़ी दाल बराबर (ghar kī murġī dāl barābar) — if you know someone very well, you stop respecting them
  • Irish: méadaíonn an taithí an tarcaisne — if you know someone very well, you stop respecting them
  • Italian: confidenza toglie riverenza — if you know someone very well, you stop respecting them
  • Malayalam: മുറ്റത്തെ മുല്ലയ്ക്ക് മണമില്ല (muṟṟatte mullaykkŭ maṇamilla) — if you know someone very well, you stop respecting them
  • Polish: przyzwyczajenie rodzi lekceważenie — if you know someone very well, you stop respecting them
  • Spanish: donde hay confianza, da asco — if you know someone very well, you stop respecting them
  • Thai: เล่นกับหมาหมาเลียปาก เล่นกับสากสากต่อยหัว (lên-gàp-mǎa-mǎa-liia-bpàak lên-gàp-sàak-sàak-dtɔ̀i-hǔua) — if you know someone very well, you stop respecting them
  • Urdu: گھر کی مرغی دال برابر (ghar kī murġī dāl barābar) — if you know someone very well, you stop respecting them
  • Vietnamese: Chơi chó, chó liếm mặt; chơi gà, gà mổ mắt — if you know someone very well, you stop respecting them
  • Vietnamese: bụt nhà không thiêng — if you know someone very well, you stop respecting them