definitions

scorn

[ skawrn ]
/ skɔrn /
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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.

RELATED WORDS

hypocrite, impersonator, cheat, faker, sham, fake, sharper, actor, mountebank, imitator, shyster, phony, pretender, quack, fraud, trickster, deceiver, pseudo, mimic, charlatan

Nearby words

scoriae, scorification, scorify, scoring, scoring position, in, scorn, scorner, scornful, scornfully, scorpaenid, scorpaenoid

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
Related forms

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

British Dictionary definitions for scorner

scorn

/ (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

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