spurn
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
-
disdainful rejection.
-
contemptuous treatment.
- Synonyms:
- contumely
-
a kick.
verb
-
to reject (a person or thing) with contempt
-
archaic to kick (at)
noun
-
an instance of spurning
-
archaic a kick or thrust
Synonym Usage
See refuse 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
has spurnedperfect 3rd person singular
-
have spurnedperfect
-
are spurningprogressive
-
has been spurningperfect progressive 3rd person singular
-
am spurningprogressive 1st person singular
-
have been spurningperfect progressive
-
is spurningprogressive 3rd person singular
-
spurnssingular 3rd person
-
spurningparticiple
Past
-
had spurnedperfect
-
was spurningprogressive singular
-
spurnedsimple
-
were spurningprogressive plural
-
spurnedparticiple
-
had been spurningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of spurn
First recorded in 1250–1300; (verb) Middle English spurnen, Old English spurnan; cognate with Old Saxon, Old High German spurnan, Old Norse sporna “to kick”; akin to Latin spernere “to put away”; (noun) Middle English: “a kick, contemptuous stroke,” derivative of the verb
Explanation
If you reject your mother's offer to buy you a pair of lederhosen with a snort and eye roll, you are spurning her generosity. To spurn means to reject with disdain. Originally, to spurn was to kick away. Though it's not used in that context so often anymore, being spurned still feels like a kick in the gut. You can reject someone kindly, or let them down easily, but you can't spurn someone with anything but malice.
Vocabulary lists containing spurn
Dissed List: Breakup Words for Valentine's Day
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Grade 11, List 4
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"Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death" by Patrick Henry (1775)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
At Anthropic, Rao has chosen to raise less money than is available and to spurn the highest valuations offered.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026
Caleb Williams, the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback from USC, says he is happy in Chicago a year after he and his father discussed ways to spurn the Bears.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 4, 2025
Florida State: You’ll find the Seminoles closer to the top here than in other post-spring forecasts, largely because of our faith in coach Mike Norvell to turn the playoff spurn into seasonlong emotional propulsion.
From Seattle Times • Jun. 3, 2024
He still felt he could win and he did not want to spurn the opportunity.
From BBC • Mar. 18, 2024
That she would spurn me for leaving her alone in the woods.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
