scornful

[ skawrn-fuh l ]

/ ˈskɔrn fəl /

full of scorn; derisive; contemptuous: He smiled in a scornful way.

Nearby words

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at scorn, -ful

Related forms

scorn·ful·ly, adverbscorn·ful·ness, nounun·scorn·ful, adjectiveun·scorn·ful·ly, adverb

un·scorn·ful·ness, noun

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

Over a period of just a few weeks, a host of high profile periodicals have published smug, scornful dismissals of the music.
What’s With This Uncool Surge in Jazz Bashing?|Ted Gioia|November 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Ronald Reagan was president when we made that movie, and he was scornful and just openly had all these vile attitudes.
Jonathan Demme on Gaza, Transphobia in ‘The Silence of the Lambs,’ and Meryl Streep as a Rock Star|Marlow Stern|July 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There are also the looting and desecrating “archaeologists” for whom Wilkinson reserves his most scornful language.
The Nile: Where Ancient and Modern Meet|William O’Connor|June 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He then went through a scornful recitation of all the things he could do if he wanted to settle for cheap laughs.
The Stacks: The Inimitable Albert Brooks Caught at the Dawn of His Movie Career|Paul Slansky|April 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST

"I do not understand you, seigneur," rejoined Lodgard, while his features assumed an arrogant and scornful expression.
The Bath Keepers, v.2 (Novels of Paul de Kock Volume VIII)|Charles Paul de Kock
He laughs aloud—a wild, unpleasant, scornful laugh, that makes her cheek turn pale.
The Haunted Chamber|"The Duchess"
If the humblest servant in my house pointed a scornful finger at me and cried 'Coward,' I would bow my head.
John Splendid|Neil Munro
He did not know that he had aroused a scornful kind of anger in that proud heart by his love for Isabel Gilbert.
The Doctor's Wife|M. E. Braddon
But, despite the scornful incredulity with which his remarks had been received, they had not fallen on entirely barren soil.
Captain Calamity|Rolf Bennett