Synonyms

scorn

American

[skawrn] / skɔrn /

noun

open or unqualified contempt; disdain.

His face and attitude showed the scorn he felt.

Synonyms:

contumely
an object of derision or contempt.
a derisive or contemptuous action or speech.

Antonyms:

praise

verb (used with object)

to treat or regard with contempt or disdain.

They scorned the old beggar.

Synonyms:

detest, despise, contemn, disdain
to reject, refuse, or ignore with contempt or disdain.

She scorned my help.

verb (used without object)

to mock; jeer.

idioms

laugh to scorn, to ridicule; deride.

Many of his sophisticated listeners laughed him to scorn.

scorn British

/ skɔːn /

noun

open contempt or disdain for a person or thing; derision
an object of contempt or derision
archaic an act or expression signifying contempt

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

to treat with contempt or derision
(tr) to reject with contempt

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Related Words

See contempt.

Other Word Forms

outscorn verb (used with object)
scorner noun
scornful adjective
scornfully adverb
scornfulness noun
scorningly adverb
self-scorn noun

Etymology

Origin of scorn

First recorded in 1150–1200; (noun) Middle English scorn, scarn, from Old French escarn, from Germanic (compare obsolete Dutch schern “mockery, trickery”); (verb) Middle English skarnen, sc(h)ornen, from Old French escharnir, eschernir, ultimately from Germanic

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.

“To build themselves up and deter others from challenging their power, they take others down in public, letting them know exactly where they stand and how much they scorn them.”

From Salon • Mar. 19, 2026

I would scorn the factory recommended oil-change interval of 6,000 miles—Fie!

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 23, 2026

The alleged bottle thief could suffer public humiliation and/or private scorn if you tell the host and other guests what happened.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 24, 2025

Parsons graduated from the University of Florida with a journalism degree, so perhaps he avoids the scorn of Cosell’s ghost.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 6, 2025

After months of frustration, failure, and growing public scorn, Sheriff Thomas Tate, ABI lead investigator Simon Benson, and the district attorney's investigator, Larry Ikner, decided to arrest Walter McMillian based primarily on Ralph Myers's allegation.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023