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Condescend vs Care - What's the difference?

condescend | care |

As a verb condescend

is (lb) to come down from one's superior position; to deign (to do something).

As a noun care is

tear, rift, crack.

condescend

English

Verb

(en verb)
  • (lb) To come down from one's superior position; to deign (to do something).
  • *1665 , (John Dryden), (The Indian Emperour) , act 1, sc.2:
  • *:Spain's mighty monarch/ In gracious clemency, does condescend / On these conditions, to become your friend.
  • *1847 , (Anne Bronte), Agnes Grey , Ch.5:
  • *:Fanny and little Harriet he seldom condescended to notice; but Mary Ann was something of a favourite.
  • (lb) To treat (someone) as though inferior; to be patronizing (toward someone); to talk down (to someone).
  • *1861 , (Charles Dickens), (Great Expectations) , Ch.29:
  • *:"You must know," said Estella, condescending to me as a brilliant and beautiful woman might, "that I have no heart."
  • *1880 , , Clever Woman of the Family , Ch.7:
  • *:Ermine never let any one be condescending to her, and conducted the conversation with her usual graceful good breeding.
  • *
  • *:At her invitation he outlined for her the succeeding chapters with terse military accuracy?; and what she liked best and best understood was avoidance of that false modesty which condescends , turning technicality into pabulum.
  • To consent, agree.
  • *1671 , (John Milton), (Samson Agonistes) , lines 1134-36:
  • *:Can they think me so broken, so debased / With corporal servitude, that my mind ever / Will condescend to such absurd commands?
  • *1868 , (Horatio Alger), Struggling Upward , Ch.3:
  • *:"This is the pay I get for condescending to let you go with me."
  • To come down.
  • Usage notes

    * This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive . See * In sense “to talk down”, the derived participial adjective condescending (and corresponding adverb condescendingly) are more common than the verb itself.

    Synonyms

    * (come down from superior position) acquiesce, deign, stoop, vouchsafe * patronize, put on airs * (consent) yield * (come down) descend

    care

    English

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) (m), from (etyl) (m), . See (m).

    Noun

  • (obsolete) Grief, sorrow.
  • *, Bk.V:
  • *:Than Feraunte his cosyn had grete care and cryed full lowde.
  • Close attention; concern; responsibility.
  • :
  • *Shakespeare
  • *:I thank thee for thy care and honest pains.
  • Worry.
  • :
  • Maintenance, upkeep.
  • :
  • *
  • *:Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.
  • The treatment of those in need (especially as a profession).
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-21, author= Karen McVeigh
  • , volume=189, issue=2, page=10, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= US rules human genes can't be patented , passage=The US supreme court has ruled unanimously that natural human genes cannot be patented, a decision that scientists and civil rights campaigners said removed a major barrier to patient care and medical innovation.}}
  • The state of being cared for by others.
  • :
  • The object of watchful attention or anxiety.
  • *Spenser
  • *:Right sorrowfully mourning her bereaved cares .
  • Derived terms
    * caregiving * Care Sunday * managed care * primary care * secondary care * take care of * tertiary care
    Quotations
    * 1925 , Walter Anthony and Tom Reed (titles), Rupert Julian (director), The Phantom of the Opera , silent movie *: ‘Have a care , Buquet—ghosts like not to be seen or talked about!’

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) (m), (m), from (etyl) .

    Verb

    (car)
  • (label) To be concerned about, have an interest in.
  • *{{quote-book, year=1959, author=(Georgette Heyer), title=(The Unknown Ajax), chapter=1
  • , passage=And no use for anyone to tell Charles that this was because the Family was in mourning for Mr Granville Darracott […]: Charles might only have been second footman at Darracott Place for a couple of months when that disaster occurred, but no one could gammon him into thinking that my lord cared a spangle for his heir.}}
  • * {{quote-news, year=2012, date=May 27, author=Nathan Rabin, work=The Onion AV Club
  • , title= TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “New Kid On The Block” (season 4, episode 8; originally aired 11/12/1992) , passage=This newfound infatuation renders Bart uncharacteristically vulnerable. He suddenly has something to care about beyond causing trouble and makes a dramatic transformation from hell-raiser to gentleman about town.}}
  • (label) To look after.
  • (label) To be mindful of.
  • Polite or formal way to say want.
  • Usage notes
    * Sense 4. Most commonly found as an interrogative or negative sentence. * Sense 4. This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive . See
    Derived terms
    * becare * care for

    Statistics

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