verb
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to reject (a person or thing) with contempt
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archaic to kick (at)
noun
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an instance of spurning
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archaic a kick or thrust
Related Words
See refuse 1.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of spurn
First recorded in 1250–1300; (verb) Middle English spurnen, Old English spurnan; cognate with Old Saxon, Old High German spurnan, Old Norse sporna “to kick”; akin to Latin spernere “to put away”; (noun) Middle English: “a kick, contemptuous stroke,” derivative of the verb
Explanation
If you reject your mother's offer to buy you a pair of lederhosen with a snort and eye roll, you are spurning her generosity. To spurn means to reject with disdain. Originally, to spurn was to kick away. Though it's not used in that context so often anymore, being spurned still feels like a kick in the gut. You can reject someone kindly, or let them down easily, but you can't spurn someone with anything but malice.
Vocabulary lists containing spurn
Dissed List: Breakup Words for Valentine's Day
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Grade 11, List 4
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"Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death" by Patrick Henry (1775)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
For most of the past century, it would have been unthinkable for BYU’s coach to spurn a blueblood like Penn State, with all the in-built advantages it offered in recruiting.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 5, 2025
A tense finish saw 27-year-old Bublik spurn one match point - and save five break points - before eventually getting over the line.
From BBC • Jun. 2, 2025
With surprising speed, however, this country’s leaders came to spurn McKinley’s embrace of a colonial empire with its costly, complicated occupation of overseas territories.
From Salon • Mar. 7, 2025
They could spurn both and opt for less expensive starting pitchers, which has been their preferred strategy for years.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 28, 2023
“I will answer for it, that mine thinks herself full as clever, and would spurn any body’s assistance.”
From "Emma" by Jane Austen
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
