Not only do those reverse concepts appear side by side, but they also flip their positions, so that âup downâ becomes âdown up.â Then, with the introduction of the answer, the words âupâ and âdownâ undergo yet another change, shifting meaning completely. For an umbrella, âupâ or âdownâ is a state of being. An umbrella is up or down, meaning âopenâ or âshut.â Yet it also can be moved up and down, as in up or down a chimney.
contempt noun [ U ] (NOT OBEYING) âº specialized also contempt of court law behaviour that is illegal because it does not obey or respect the rules of a law court: The tobacco companies may be guilty of contempt of court for refusing to produce the documents. (Definition of âcontemptâ from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus Â© Cambridge University Press)
Contempt of Congress. Definition. Congress has the authority to hold a person in contempt if the person's conduct or action obstructs the proceedings of Congress or, more usually, an inquiry by a committee of Congress.