look down on

L

look down on (phrasal verb)
/ˈlʊk daʊn ɒn/

Synopsis

The idiom “look down on” means to regard someone as inferior or unworthy, expressing judgment or disdain. It developed from the literal idea of looking downward, based on the long-standing metaphor that links height with power and low position with weakness.

Variants

• look down upon
• look down at (contextual; usually literal, occasionally figurative)

Meanings

• To regard someone as inferior or unworthy; to show disrespect or contempt.
• To judge someone as less important, capable, or valuable.
• To view someone or something from a position of assumed superiority.

Synonyms: despise; disdain; belittle; scorn; undervalue; disrespect.

Example Sentences

1. He tends to look down on coworkers who do not share his educational background.
2. She felt ignored and discouraged because her opinions were often looked down on.
3. She looked down upon anyone who changed careers later in life, believing success should come early.
4. He looked down at the new employees, treating them as if their ideas had no real value.
5. She stopped walking to look down and check her footing on the uneven path (literal).

Origin and History

The figurative sense of “look down on” arises from a universal human metaphor that associates physical height with power, status, and superiority, and lower position with weakness or inferiority. Long before the phrase stabilized in English, cultures regularly used vertical imagery to express hierarchy—rulers were imagined as elevated, while the powerless were described as low or beneath notice. From this conceptual framework, “looking down on” evolved from a physical action into a metaphor for judgment, disdain, or moral superiority.

Linguistic Development in English

In English usage, “look down” first functioned literally, describing the act of directing one’s gaze downward from a height. During the late Middle English and early Modern English periods, the addition of prepositions—particularly “on” and “upon”—shifted the expression away from physical direction toward social and moral evaluation. By this stage, “look down on/upon” conveyed the idea of regarding a person or group as inferior, even when no physical height was involved.

Country of Origin

The idiomatic use of “look down on/upon” originated in England, emerging within the broader development of figurative and abstract language during the early Modern English period. This was a time when English increasingly adopted spatial metaphors to describe social class, morality, and personal worth, particularly in literature, sermons, and moral commentary.

Earliest Printed Record

The earliest securely attested figurative uses of “look down upon” appear in early 17th-century English religious and moral prose, where the phrase is used to describe human arrogance or divine judgment rather than physical sight.

One early example occurs in a theological work published in 1607, where the phrase is used metaphorically to condemn prideful behavior:

“They that looke downe upon others, as though they were beneath them, forget how fraile their own estate is.”

(Published in England, 1607; exact day not recorded in surviving publication data.)

This citation demonstrates that by the early 1600s, “look down upon” was already understood idiomatically as an expression of contempt or moral superiority, not literal vision.

Later Standardization and Modern Usage

By the 18th century, “look down on” became the dominant idiomatic form in everyday English, while “look down upon” retained a more formal or literary tone. Both constructions shared the same figurative meaning, and their usage stabilized across British and later American English. In modern usage, the phrase is firmly established as an idiom denoting condescension, social judgment, or disrespect, with literal interpretations dependent on context rather than idiomatic intent.

Behavior, Down, Phrasal Verbs, Social