scorn

[ skawrn ]

noun

1. open or unqualified contempt; disdain:

   His face and attitude showed the scorn he felt.

   Synonyms: contumely

2. an object of derision or contempt.
3. a derisive or contemptuous action or speech.

   Antonyms: praise

verb (used with object)

1. to treat or regard with contempt or disdain:

   They scorned the old beggar.

   Synonyms: detest, despise, contemn, disdain

2. to reject, refuse, or ignore with contempt or disdain:

   She scorned my help.

verb (used without object)

1. to mock; jeer.

scorn

/ skɔːn /

noun

1. open contempt or disdain for a person or thing; derision
2. an object of contempt or derision
3. archaic.
   an act or expression signifying contempt

verb

1. to treat with contempt or derision
2. tr to reject with contempt

Derived Forms

• ˈscornfully, adverb
• ˈscornful, adjective
• ˈscornfulness, noun
• ˈscorner, noun

Other Words From

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of scorn¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of scorn¹

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

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. laugh to scorn, to ridicule; deride:

   Many of his sophisticated listeners laughed him to scorn.

Synonym Study

See contempt.

Example Sentences

That Microsoft was about to stop supporting a PC it is currently selling and for which it controls everything from the firmware to the drivers earned the company some well-deserved scorn from users and the press.

From Ars Technica

In the theater, there was a kind of scorn, if I may say, for sitcoms.

From Washington Post

Younger generations typically don’t approach fast food with the same amount of scorn, and sandwich releases now come with celebrity endorsements and the same level of anticipation as sneaker drops.

From Eater

The outsize power of celebrity billionaires and influencers to steer the market has drawn scorn from committed investors and from regulators worried about manipulation.

From Washington Post

Plus, social media scorn also takes place after the fact—when harm to the animal has already been done.

From Outside Online

Ricky Gervais, the sultan of scorn, uttered that cheeky bit while emceeing the Golden Globes ceremony a few years back.

From The Daily Beast

Hanauer has been making the same case for years, drawing heaps of both praise and scorn.

From The Daily Beast

Heap praise, not scorn, on physicians who are brave and caring enough to recommend cannabis when appropriate.

From The Daily Beast

Nutrition nannies scorn hot dogs, but there are plenty of happy eaters who adore them.

From The Daily Beast

This idea fell out of favor in the last century—and was looked on with scorn as “unscientific.”

From The Daily Beast

Then she put her anger from her; put from her, too, the insolence and scorn with which so lavishly she had addressed him hitherto.

From Project Gutenberg

But scorn is far more volcanic than glacial and a poor barrier between sex and judgment.

From Project Gutenberg

"Mr. Capt don't demean himself to chambermaids, Miss Lucy," retorted the abigail with angry scorn.

From Project Gutenberg

For all his vaunted scorn of being a butcher at a price, now that he heard the price he seemed not half so scornful.

From Project Gutenberg

His face was ash-coloured and his black eyebrows quivered as though the blaze of her scorn had blinded him.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• derision
• disdain
• mockery
• ridicule
• sarcasm
• sneer