Loath vs Demur - What's the difference?
loath | demur |
unwilling, reluctant; averse, disinclined
* 1911 , (Jack London), The Whale Tooth
*:The frizzle-headed man-eaters were loath to leave their fleshpots so long as the harvest of human carcases was plentiful. Sometimes, when the harvest was too plentiful, they imposed on the missionaries by letting the word slip out that on such a day there would be a killing and a barbecue.
(obsolete) hostile, angry, loathsome, unpleasant
(obsolete) To linger; to stay; to tarry
* Nicols
To delay; to pause; to suspend proceedings or judgment in view of a doubt or difficulty; to hesitate; to put off the determination or conclusion of an affair.
* Hayward
To scruple or object; to take exception; to oppose; to balk
(legal) To interpose a demurrer.
(obsolete) To suspend judgment concerning; to doubt of or hesitate about
(obsolete) To cause delay to; to put off
* Quarles
Stop; pause; hesitation as to proceeding; suspense of decision or action; scruple.
* 2004 , (Richard Fortey), The Earth , Folio Society 2011, p. 132:
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In obsolete|lang=en terms the difference between loath and demur
is that loath is (obsolete) hostile, angry, loathsome, unpleasant while demur is (obsolete) to cause delay to; to put off.As an adjective loath
is unwilling, reluctant; averse, disinclined.As a verb demur is
(obsolete) to linger; to stay; to tarry.As a noun demur is
stop; pause; hesitation as to proceeding; suspense of decision or action; scruple.loath
English
Alternative forms
* loth (mostly UK)Adjective
(er)- I was loath to return to the office without the Henderson file.
Usage notes
* Often confused in meaning and pronunciation with loathe, a related transitive verb. * This spelling is about four times as common as "loth" in the UK and fifty times as common in the US.Synonyms
* unwilling, reluctant, averse, disinclinedAnagrams
*demur
English
Verb
(demurr)- Yet durst not demur nor abide upon the camp.
- Upon this rub, the English embassadors thought fit to demur .
- I demur to that statement.
- The personnel demurred at the management's new scheme.
- The latter I demur , for in their looks / Much reason, and in their actions, oft appears. -
- He demands a fee, / And then demurs me with a vain delay.
Noun
(en noun)- All my demurs but double his attacks; At last he whispers, ``Do; and we go snacks.'' -
- Most geologists today would accept such evidence without demur , but it was still ‘fringe’ science when du Toit was publishing.