Definition of SCORN

Choose the Right Synonym for scorn

Verb

despise, contemn, scorn, disdain mean to regard as unworthy of one's notice or consideration. despise may suggest an emotional response ranging from strong dislike to loathing. despises cowards contemn implies a vehement condemnation of a person or thing as low, vile, feeble, or ignominious. contemns the image of women promoted by advertisers scorn implies a ready or indignant contempt. scorns the very thought of retirement disdain implies an arrogant or supercilious aversion to what is regarded as unworthy. disdained popular music

Examples of scorn in a Sentence

Noun

Unlike government censorship, this corruption eats at one of China's more beleaguered professions from within its ranks. The trading of favors for cash is so prevalent that, like the honest cop in a corrupt police unit, an ethical journalist risks the scorn of colleagues. — Gady A. Epstein, Forbes, 21 July 2008 He burns with generous indignation at the scorn with which many literary critics have treated Tolkien, and his subtitle, "author of the Century," is meant to provoke. But provocation is only one of his purposes. — Richard Jenkyns, New Republic, 28 Jan. 2002 Claiming their inalienable rights as teenagers, the two exercise an unmitigated scorn for all adults in the immediate vicinity … — B. Ruby Rich, Nation, 3 & 10 Sept. 2001 They treated his suggestion with scorn. an expression full of scorn Her political rivals have poured scorn on her ideas for improving the tax system.

Verb

My parents scorned packaged and ready-made foods. It did not matter that, at the time, our hometown was a test-market capital for these sorts of food products; my father still thought that convenience food was a Communist plot, and my mother insisted that only trashy people failed to practice a separation of food groups. — Molly O'Neill, Vogue, January 2007 A union member and activist since age 15, bound for an academic career at Cornell and NYU, Fitch, now past 65, writes like a lover scorned. — Rob Long, National Review, 13 Feb. 2006 Stung by attacks on his new Excursion—a 12.5-m.p.g. guzzler dubbed "Ford Valdez" by critics—he has expressed fears that auto companies could be scorned like tobacco companies if they don't clean up their act. Similarly, GM has sought to position itself as the greenest car company, beginning in 1996 when it launched the nation's first modern, mass-produced electric car, the EV-1. — Margot Roosevelt, Time, 14 Aug. 2000 He scorns anyone who earns less money than he does. Her actions were scorned by many people. They were scorned as fanatics.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Google, which declined to send CEO Sundar Pichai (or Alphabet CEO Larry Page), and which would be represented on the dais by an empty chair, was expected to receive the worst of lawmakers’ scorn. — Casey Newton, The Verge, "Congress is getting better at questioning social media executives," 6 Sep. 2018 Parker, who is the first living human to have a NASA spacecraft named for him, first published the his theory in 1958 to significant scorn from peers in the astrophysics community. — Robin Seemangal, Popular Mechanics, "A Workhorse Rocket Maker Tries to Touch the Sun—And Stay Relevant," 16 Aug. 2018 Men like Safeway's Steve Burd and Walgreens' Jay Rosan, each of whom tried to hitch their companies to Holmes' wagon of lies, also belong in the scorn category. — Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, "The downfall of Theranos, from the journalist who made it happen," 15 July 2018 While Bette Midler's scorn for fall weather in this movie is *iconic*, the first scene actually shows Thackery Binx waking up to discover that Sanderson sisters lured his little sister Emily away. — Caroline Picard, Good Housekeeping, "The Hardest 'Hocus Pocus' Trivia Quiz You'll Ever Take," 28 Sep. 2018 And Trump’s rude remarks aren’t reserved just for black women; black men have been targets of his scorn, too. — Jewel Wicker, Teen Vogue, "Donald Trump Calling Omarosa a “Dog” Is Disgusting, But Not Surprising," 14 Aug. 2018 On the other side of the coin are those deserving our scorn. — Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, "The downfall of Theranos, from the journalist who made it happen," 15 July 2018 Each emphasized their empathy with the less fortunate and their scorn for President Donald Trump and Gov. Rick Scott. — Anthony Man, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Democratic governor candidates seek edge for final sprint to primary," 2 July 2018 Since then, Peterson has become the subject of national scorn, including from President Donald Trump who has repeatedly called him a coward. — Sarah Gray, Time, "'Coward' Cop Defends His Actions During Parkland School Shooting," 26 Feb. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Recently, the authors note, auditing has become undervalued and scorned within the four fiefdoms. — Jane Gleeson-white, WSJ, "‘The Big Four’ Review: Titans of the Books," 23 Sep. 2018 There’s no online fury like a NBA fan base scorned. — Justin Phillips, SFChronicle.com, "Why it doesn’t matter that Yelp trolls are slamming Ayesha Curry’s new Houston restaurant," 20 June 2018 The Trump administration’s move to separate immigrant parents from their children on the U.S.-Mexico border has grabbed attention around the world, drawn scorn from human-rights organizations and overtaken the immigration debate in Congress. — Amy Taxin, BostonGlobe.com, "Protections for immigrants erode under Trump since inaugural," 18 June 2018 But conservatives scorn him for aligning his party with organized labor and starting the administrative state. — Michael Kazin, New York Times, "Woodrow Wilson Achieved a Lot. So Why Is He So Scorned?," 22 June 2018 Even just a year ago she was scorned by many people in Pakistan as little more than a bolshie Twitter-user. — The Economist, "Nawaz Sharif returns to Pakistan, and jail," 14 July 2018 If anything, Gomez’s reputation is less a discernible track record of being the woman scorned and more as the heartbreaker herself. — Michelle Ruiz, Vogue, "You Really Don’t Need to Worry About Selena Gomez," 11 July 2018 One of the most notable cases happened in 2015 when Minnesota dentist Walter Palmer was internationally scorned for killing the beloved Cecil the lion near a national park in Zimbabwe. — Lisa Gutierrez, kansascity, "Hunter defends killing 'rare' black giraffe, says it was too old to breed," 2 July 2018 Donald Trump may scorn liberal norms, but America’s checks and balances are strong, and will outlast him. — The Economist, "After decades of triumph, democracy is losing ground," 14 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'scorn.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.