📖 Meaning
A person with a sense of justice who resents and detests the dark realities of society and unreasonable customs. It is a variant of the more common form 愤世嫉俗. The term describes deep disillusionment and moral outrage toward a corrupt world.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase appears in Lu Xun's essay 'On the Power of Mara Poetry' (摩罗诗力说), collected in his early work 'The Tomb' (坟), written during the late Qing and early Republican era. In this essay, Lu Xun discusses how those with extreme self-respect inevitably feel indignation, resenting the world and its conventions, erupting in great upheaval to contend against the forces of opposition. He uses the term to characterize the rebellious spirit of Romantic poets such as Byron and Shelley, who challenged social injustice and hypocrisy.
💡 Example Usage
他因屡遭排挤而变得忿世嫉俗，终日借酒浇愁。
After being repeatedly marginalized, he grew cynical and resentful of the world, drowning his sorrows in drink all day.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 忿世嫉俗
- Pinyin: fèn shì jí sú
- Literal Translation: resent, world, hate, customs
- Category: Attitude
- Characters: 4