scorn
- 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.
- 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.
- to mock; jeer.
- laugh to scorn, to ridicule; deride: Her good advice was laughed to scorn.
Origin of scorn
Synonyms
See more synonyms for scorn on Thesaurus.comSynonym study
Antonyms
Examples from the Web for scorner
Historical Examples
Rabbi as thou art, thou art an Epicurean; thou sittest in the seat of the scorner.
Dreamers of the GhettoI. Zangwill
He also must be such a lady's scorner: he who is such a poor judge of horses and wines.
Introduction to Robert BrowningHiram Corson
And he, the scorner of women, had chosen her for his homage!
The Ordeal of Richard Feverel, CompleteGeorge Meredith
The most disagreeable of all people are those who "sit in the seat of the scorner."
CharacterSamuel Smiles
Long ago oppressor and oppressed, prophet and scorner, had been dust.
Looking BackwardEdward Bellamy
scorn
- open contempt or disdain for a person or thing; derision
- an object of contempt or derision
- archaic an act or expression signifying contempt
- to treat with contempt or derision
- (tr) to reject with contempt
Word Origin
Word Origin and History for scorner
n.
c.1300, agent noun from scorn (v.).
scorn
n.
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
v.
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."