Idiom idiom
familiarity breeds contempt
Meaning
The better you know someone the less you like him
Examples
“They argue more now because familiarity breeds contempt.”
“After living together for three years, they started to notice every small habit, proving that familiarity breeds contempt.”
“The manager worried that spending too much time with his staff would cause familiarity to breed contempt and weaken his authority.”
Origin
first recorded 14th c.
first recorded 14th c.
From Aesop's fable 'The Fox and the Lion'; the Latin maxim appears in Publilius Syrus, and Chaucer used it in the Tale of Melibee (c. 1386).
Last updated June 7, 2026