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In the following sentence:

hoping his contempt was not too clearly marked for politeness.

I could not find a suitable meaning of "mark for" so I am unsure about the meaning. I could guess that he did not want to pass his contempt off as politeness?

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  • That's a phrase, not a complete sentence. It seems to mean that 'he' hoped that the contempt he (privately) felt for the person he was talking to was not so obvious as to make him appear rude.
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Jan 22, 2021 at 9:58

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In this case, marked means "recognized". The passage seems to be talking about contemptuous behavior or words. The speaker may be trying to communicate that contempt, but with ambiguity or a cover of politeness to keep from appearing impolite. He wants to be politely contemptuous, not rudely contemptuous.

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