scorn

[ skawrn ]

See synonyms for: scorn scorned scorning scorns 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.

Idioms about scorn

laugh to scorn, to ridicule; deride: Many of his sophisticated listeners laughed him to scorn.

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

synonym study For scorn

1. See contempt.

Other words for scorn

1	contumely
4	disdain, contemn, despise, detest

See synonyms for scorn on Thesaurus.com

Opposites for scorn

praise

See antonyms for scorn on Thesaurus.com

Other words from scorn

scorn·er, noun
scorn·ing·ly, adverb
out·scorn, verb (used with object)
self-scorn, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use scorn in a sentence

And so scorning the whole idea of competition just because it can backfire in a tiny minority feels reflexive and unnecessary.
Confessions of an Extreme Yogi | Benjamin Lorr | December 31, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
But Gilbert, like a disarmed gladiator, had received the proud speech and the scorning looks straight in the heart.
Balsamo, The Magician | Alexander Dumas
He looked into my eye, and I returned his gaze, scorning to ask him not to take advantage of me, now that I was fallen.
The Way of a Man | Emerson Hough
"No, I wasn't listening," said Cecily, scorning apology or excuse.
Tristram of Blent | Anthony Hope
We are to earn the joys of a higher existence, 25 not by scorning, but by using, all the gifts of God in this.
Dictionary of Quotations from Ancient and Modern, English and Foreign Sources | James Wood

Ftatateeta, despising them and scorning the soldiers, pushes her way through the crowd and confronts the spear points undismayed.
Caesar and Cleopatra | George Bernard Shaw

British Dictionary definitions for scorn

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

Origin of scorn

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

Derived forms of scorn

scorner, noun
scornful, adjective
scornfully, adverb
scornfulness, noun

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

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