scorn

[skawrn]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR scorn ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

open or unqualified contempt; disdain: His face and attitude showed the scorn he felt.

an object of derision or contempt.

a derisive or contemptuous action or speech.

verb (used with object)

to treat or regard with contempt or disdain: They scorned the old beggar.

to reject, refuse, or ignore with contempt or disdain: She scorned my help.

verb (used without object)

to mock; jeer.

Nearby words

Idioms

laugh to scorn, to ridicule; deride: Her good advice was laughed to scorn.

Origin of scorn

1150–1200; (noun) Middle English scorn, scarn < Old French escarn < Germanic (compare obsolete Dutch schern mockery, trickery); (v.) Middle English skarnen, sc(h)ornen < Old French escharnir, eschernir ≪ Germanic

SYNONYMS FOR scorn

1. contumely. 4. disdain, contemn, despise, detest.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR scorn ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR scorn

3. praise.

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Related forms

scorn·er, nounscorn·ing·ly, adverbout·scorn, verb (used with object)self-scorn, noun

un·scorned, adjective

Synonym study

1. See contempt.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for scorner

And he, the scorner of women, had chosen her for his homage!
The Ordeal of Richard Feverel, Complete|George Meredith
It is when he sits in the scorner's chair, whether in good humour or in bad, that he is the little lord of versifiers.
Old and New Masters|Robert Lynd
The heart of the scorner thou breakest, and art jealous for thy rites.
Children of the Dawn|Elsie Finnimore Buckley
In vain I tried to coax from this scorner of God's earth some sign of pleasure in the flowers themselves.
Spanish Highways and Byways|Katharine Lee Bates

The scorner of princes turned to me and snapped his fingers.
Heart of the West|O. Henry

British Dictionary definitions for scorner

scorn

noun

open contempt or disdain for a person or thing; derision

an object of contempt or derision

archaic an act or expression signifying contempt

verb

to treat with contempt or derision

(tr) to reject with contempt

Derived Formsscorner, nounscornful, adjectivescornfully, adverbscornfulness, noun

Word Origin for scorn

C12 schornen, from Old French escharnir, of Germanic origin; compare Old High German scerōn to behave rowdily, obsolete Dutch schern mockery

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

Word Origin and History for scorner

scorner

c.1300, agent noun from scorn (v.).

scorn

c.1200, a shortening of Old French escarn "mockery, derision, contempt," a common Romanic word (cf. Spanish escarnio, Italian scherno) of Germanic origin, from Proto-Germanic *skarnjan "mock, deride" (cf. Old High German skern "mockery, jest, sport," Middle High German scherzen "to jump with joy").

Probably influenced by Old French escorne "affront, disgrace," which is a back-formation from escorner, literally "to break off (someone's) horns," from Vulgar Latin *excornare (source of Italian scornare "treat with contempt"), from Latin ex- "without" (see ex-) + cornu "horn" (see horn (n.)).

scorn

c.1200, from Anglo-French, Old North French escarnir (Old French escharnir), from the source of scorn (n.). Cf. Old High German skernon, Middle Dutch schernen. Related: Scorned; scorning. Forms in Romanic languages influenced by confusion with Old French escorner "deprive of horns," hence "deprive of honor or ornament, disgrace."

scorn

noun

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Idioms

Origin of scorn

Synonym study

Examples from the Web for scorner

scorn

noun

verb

Word Origin for scorn

scorner

scorn

scorn