spurned
Americanadjective
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of spurned
Explanation
Someone who's spurned has been abandoned or rejected, usually by a romantic interest. If your significant other breaks up with you unexpectedly, you might feel spurned. It's not easy to be a spurned lover, since the adjective implies total rejection by someone you love. A spurned groom, for example, might wait at the church on his wedding day for a bride who never shows up. The Old English root word of spurned makes this rejection pretty clear: spurnan means "to kick away, reject, scorn, or despise."
Vocabulary lists containing spurned
Happy Birthday, James Joyce!
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Words to Celebrate West Virginia!
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"Watched" by Marina Budhos, Chapters 10–12
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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.
The announcement comes after North Korea has repeatedly spurned South Korean President Lee Jae Myung's dovish overtures, labelling Seoul its "most hostile" enemy and declaring itself an "irreversible" nuclear state.
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
Directors of London-listed DCC, who spurned the bidders’ April approach, said last month that they are “minded to recommend” the higher offer to shareholders.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
His sister spurned his attempts to reconcile, he says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 23, 2026
He launched an attempt to breed pandas in captivity but, to his despair, London's Chi Chi repeatedly spurned the attentions of Moscow's An An.
From BBC ● Apr. 20, 2026
Arriving in Washington with the same sort of desire and energy to contribute, though, she’d been roundly spurned, pilloried for taking on a policy role in the White House’s work on health-care reform.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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.
