scorn
[ skawrn ]
/ skɔrn /
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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.
SYNONYMS FOR scorn
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“Was” is used for the indicative past tense of “to be,” and “were” is only used for the subjunctive past tense.
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Idioms for 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 FROM scorn
scorn·er, nounscorn·ing·ly, adverbout·scorn, verb (used with object)self-scorn, nounDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for scorn
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
Derived forms of scorn
scorner, nounscornful, adjectivescornfully, adverbscornfulness, nounWord 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
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