scorn 1 of 2

scorn

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verb

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb scorn differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of scorn are contemn, despise, and disdain. While all these words mean "to regard as unworthy of one's notice or consideration," scorn implies a ready or indignant contempt.

scorns the very thought of retirement

When might contemn be a better fit than scorn?

The words contemn and scorn can be used in similar contexts, but contemn implies a vehement condemnation of a person or thing as low, vile, feeble, or ignominious.

contemns the image of women promoted by advertisers

Where would despise be a reasonable alternative to scorn?

The synonyms despise and scorn are sometimes interchangeable, but despise may suggest an emotional response ranging from strong dislike to loathing.

despises cowards

When is disdain a more appropriate choice than scorn?

In some situations, the words disdain and scorn are roughly equivalent. However, disdain implies an arrogant or supercilious aversion to what is regarded as unworthy.

disdained popular music

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of scorn
Noun
The standoff is a political test for Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, who has drawn scorn from a restive base of left-flank voters pushing the party to hold firm in its demands for health care funding. Mary Clare Jalonick, Fortune, 1 Oct. 2025 The piece instantly became the subject of viral memes and inspired an uproarious exchange on TNT’s NBA Tip-Off during which Charles Barkley couldn’t contain his scorn. Sally Jenkins, The Atlantic, 30 Aug. 2025
Verb
By 1845, Marx was scorning his colleagues for floating in the clouds. Shai Tubali, Big Think, 30 Sep. 2025 The scorelessness has turned to scorn, too. Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 28 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for scorn
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scorn
Noun
  • Adding further controversy to the case, in 2024, Pras’ lawyer David Kenner pleaded guilty to criminal contempt of court for leaking confidential grand jury materials to Bloomberg News.
    Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 3 Nov. 2025
  • While support for the president and contempt for the left has united conservative media for years, Gaza has been driving a wedge between two of the right’s biggest names.
    Max Tani, semafor.com, 27 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Simonson suggested that bartenders don’t really disdain the Bloody Mary; they just are annoyed at having to make what is almost universally considered a brunch drink after hours.
    The New York Times News Service Syndicate, Denver Post, 28 Oct. 2025
  • California’s Democratic establishment disdains Citizen Pratt.
    Gary Baum, HollywoodReporter, 16 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Both brothers despise their father, for good reason.
    Karl Ove Knausgaard, New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2025
  • The fact that the film is named after its subject’s most beloved — and most despised by Hart himself — hit tells you everything.
    David Fear, Rolling Stone, 15 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • My darling, hatred takes the beauty away.
    Tracee Ellis Ross, Glamour, 27 Oct. 2025
  • Muschietti touched on this in his movies — the bullying of Mike Hanlon and the hate-crime murder of Adrian Mellon — including the way Pennywise fosters and foments the hatred already lurking in the hearts of Derry’s citizens.
    Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 27 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Screech your outrage, ACC schools disrespected by just one bid and pound your shoes on a desk somewhere, Notre Dame haters, especially those in the commonwealth of Kentucky and in the sunny setting of Miami.
    Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 5 Nov. 2025
  • In hundreds of communications reviewed by USA TODAY, Rochelle described falling behind on mortgage payments, needing help finding a daycare in Austin and feeling disrespected by caseworkers.
    Jayme Fraser, USA Today, 30 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The Raine family’s lawyers will have to prove that OpenAI was aware of the risks posed by ChatGPT and disregarded them.
    Nikita Ostrovsky, Time, 23 Oct. 2025
  • This time, the environmental advocacy group contended that San Diego’s supplemental analysis of the visual impacts of taller buildings, prepared in advance of the 2022 ballot measure, disregarded other consequential environmental factors.
    Jennifer Van Grove, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • When the pandemic arrived, Bellotti and Goodman recognized that the growing constituency of people who’d come to hate scientists could also, with the right messaging, be made to hate the fact that scientists experimented on animals.
    Ava Kofman, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025
  • Sometimes people love you, people hate you.
    Edward Segarra, USA Today, 3 Nov. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Scorn.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scorn. Accessed 7 Nov. 2025.

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