spurn
Americanverb (used with object)
-
spurns,
present (3rd person singular)
-
spurned,
past participle, past
-
spurning
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
spurns,
present (3rd person singular)
-
spurned,
past participle, past
-
spurning
present participle
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
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
spurnsimple
-
spurnssimple
-
have spurnedperfect
-
has spurnedperfect
-
am spurningprogressive
-
are spurningprogressive
-
is spurningprogressive
-
have been spurningperfect progressive
-
has been spurningperfect progressive
Past
-
spurnedsimple
-
had spurnedperfect
-
was spurningprogressive
-
were spurningprogressive
-
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.
See Examples For:
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
A tense finish saw 27-year-old Bublik spurn one match point - and save five break points - before eventually getting over the line.
From BBC ● Jun. 2, 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
Every chicken breast and milk carton you spurn lowers the demand on industries responsible for egregious environmental harm – and spares countless animal lives from needless suffering.
From Salon ● Jan. 23, 2024
I hoped that some bright kid at Ohio State University who really wanted to be an oceanographer would read my book, spurn the offer from Goldman Sachs, and set out to sea.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
The story of the first Carthaginian queen, Dido, was co-opted by the Roman poet Virgil, whose hero, Aeneas, spurns her.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 11, 2026
In the ancient Greek tale of Narcissus, a young hunter, admired for his unmatched beauty, spurns many who love and pursue him.
From Scientific American ● Aug. 16, 2023
Valeria plans an elaborate birthday tea for Mirella, who spurns the offer.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 2, 2023
Gibson acknowledges that he spurns the typical verse-chorus structures of pop, but he can't exactly explain why.
From BBC ● Jan. 3, 2023
He spurns the Senate by Our laws, as these attest.
From Renaissance in Italy: Italian Literature Part 1 (of 2) by John Addington Symonds
Radwan spurned a good opportunity to score his second, kicking the ball dead when he had a whole half of the field to run into.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
The announcement comes after North Korea has repeatedly spurned South Korean President Lee Jae Myung's dovish overtures, labelling Seoul its "most hostile" enemy and declaring itself an "irreversible" nuclear state.
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
Directors of London-listed DCC, who spurned the bidders’ April approach, said last month that they are “minded to recommend” the higher offer to shareholders.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
His sister spurned his attempts to reconcile, he says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 23, 2026
Arriving in Washington with the same sort of desire and energy to contribute, though, she’d been roundly spurned, pilloried for taking on a policy role in the White House’s work on health-care reform.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
It entered talks with Sweden’s Saab to acquire surveillance aircraft to help detect and deter threats in the Arctic, spurning U.S. suppliers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
The Rams grew nervy, spurning chances to build their lead.
From Barron's ● Jan. 11, 2026
Younger generations are spurning the social media sites of their parents, but what’s shocking is the alternative we’ve embraced: the Find My app that shares your real-time location with as many friends as you want.
From Slate ● Dec. 14, 2025
After spurning BHP’s advances last year, Anglo American announced a proposed merger with Canada’s Teck Resources in September that would value the pro forma entity at around $60 billion using today’s share prices.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 24, 2025
He wanted to help Reyna, but since his own strategy was to deal with his problems alone, spurning anyone who tried to get close, he couldn’t exactly criticize Reyna for doing the same thing.
From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan
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