DEMUR • DICCIONARIO INGLES.COM • Definition of Demur

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/dɪmˈər/ Listen

noun

Demur n. Stop; pause; hesitation as to proceeding; suspense of decision or action; scruple. "All my demurs but double his attacks; At last he whispers, "Do; and we go snacks.""

verb

Demur v. t.

1.

To suspend judgment concerning; to doubt of or hesitate about. (Obs.) "The latter I demur, for in their looks Much reason, and in their actions, oft appears."

2.

To cause delay to; to put off. (Obs.) "He demands a fee, And then demurs me with a vain delay."

Demur v. i. (past & past part. demurred; pres. part. demurring)

1.

To linger; to stay; to tarry. (Obs.) "Yet durst not demur nor abide upon the camp."

2.

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. "Upon this rub, the English embassadors thought fit to demur."

3.

To scruple or object; to take exception, especially on the basis of scruple or modesty; as, I demur to that statement; they wanted to make him president, but he demurred. "From the popular assertion that he was the smartest man in the world Gell-Mann was not predisposed to demur."

4.

(Law) To interpose a demurrer. See Demurrer, 2.

See images of 'Demur'

Etymology of 'Demur'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Demur" Quotes from Famous Books

... soul. Nor had the youth "Disrob'd him of his virgin dress, when grasp'd "As in his hand the shield and lance he held, "I cry'd'—O, goddess-born! reserv'd for thee "Is Ilium's fate. The mighty Trojan walls "Why to o'erthrow demur'st thou?—Him I seiz'd. "Sent the brave youth, brave actions to atchieve: "And all his actions as my own I claim. "My spear then conquer'd Telephus in fight; "And after heal'd the suppliant vanquish'd foe. "Thebes low by me was laid. I, you must own, "Lesbos, and Tenedos, and Scyros took; "Chrysa, ...

— The Metamorphoses of Publius Ovidus Naso in English blank verse Vols. I & II • Ovid

... (1727-1805).—Actor and dramatist, b. in Ireland, and ed. at St. Omer, went on the stage, then studied for the Bar, to which he was ultimately admitted after some demur on account of his connection with the stage. His plays were nearly all adaptations. They include The Apprentice (1756), The Spouter, and The Upholsterer. He also wrote an essay on Dr. Johnson, and a Life ...

— A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature • John W. Cousin

... to pay her well for her trouble, and, after some demur, she consented to accompany me to the spot. We found it without much difficulty, when, dismissing her, I proceeded to examine the place. The 'castle' consisted of an irregular assemblage of cliffs and rocks—one ...

— The Works of Edgar Allan Poe - Volume 1 (of 5) of the Raven Edition • Edgar Allan Poe

... nerves were young and sensitive, and the protracted light so paralysed them that the morning found them closed "in endless night." This was a purely natural result: to admitting it, reason opposes no demur. But we must object, for truth's sake, to the tendency to account for natural consequences by assigning supernatural causes. The moon is no divinity; moonlight is no Divine emanation, with a vindictive animus; and those who countenance such silly superstition as that moonstroke ...

— Moon Lore • Timothy Harley

... never knew old Raffles do anything better. There was not an instant's demur. Lord Ernest Belville's rooms were at the top of the building, but we were in them as quickly as lift could carry and page-boy conduct us. And there was no need for the skeleton key after all; the boy opened the outer door with one of his own, and switched on the lights ...

— Raffles - Further Adventures of the Amateur Cracksman • E. W. Hornung

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