1
as in contemptuous
feeling or showing open dislike for someone or something regarded as undeserving of respect or concern
the actress gave the paparazzi a scornful glare before breezing on by them
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in slighting
intended to make a person or thing seem of little importance or value
the tenant's complaints were met with the scornful observation that he expected too much for the rent he was paying
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of scornful
Kirk shared Trump's penchant for scornful rhetoric.
—
Bart Jansen, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2025
Trump’s reaction to Modi’s trip to Tianjin has been scornful, claiming that India is offering to drop all tariffs on American goods.
—Bobby Ghosh, Time, 2 Sep. 2025
Trump, too, is scornful of what European diplomacy could achieve, declaring recently that Iran doesn’t want to talk to Europe.
—Garret Martin, The Conversation, 15 July 2025
The cast gets a huge boost at midseason with the arrival of John Leguizamo, equally broadly funny and vulnerable as Dave’s disgraced former partner, and Anna Chlumsky, hilariously scornful as a law enforcement outsider who gets brought into the story’s chaos.
—Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 26 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for scornful
Bart Jansen, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2025
Trump’s reaction to Modi’s trip to Tianjin has been scornful, claiming that India is offering to drop all tariffs on American goods.
—Bobby Ghosh, Time, 2 Sep. 2025
Trump, too, is scornful of what European diplomacy could achieve, declaring recently that Iran doesn’t want to talk to Europe.
—Garret Martin, The Conversation, 15 July 2025
The cast gets a huge boost at midseason with the arrival of John Leguizamo, equally broadly funny and vulnerable as Dave’s disgraced former partner, and Anna Chlumsky, hilariously scornful as a law enforcement outsider who gets brought into the story’s chaos.
—Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 26 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for scornful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scornful
Adjective
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Hogg, who had a brief and tumultuous stint as a DNC co–vice chair in early 2025, is contemptuous of the party’s lingering cohort of elder leaders.—
Mark Leibovich,
The Atlantic,
11 Feb. 2026
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Written in a joking and contemptuous tone, the tweet would take on an indescribably morbid weight just five days later, when, at the behest of Governor Cláudio Castro, the Rio de Janeiro police carried out the deadliest massacre in the country’s history.—
Evandro Cruz Silva,
The Dial,
10 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Yet whenever Bunny turns away from Frank to take a call from one of his underlings about the day-to-day violence and ugliness of their industry, a somewhat disdainful look passes across Frank’s face.—
Noel Murray,
Vulture,
9 Nov. 2025
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Godchaux was a divisive figure among Grateful Dead devotees — many fans were frankly outright disdainful of her presence on stage.—
Steven J. Horowitz,
Variety,
3 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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With all of the furor over the halftime show, perhaps no one noticed two highly insulting events that directly affected the deaf audience.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
13 Feb. 2026
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The discontent was more widespread, more vociferous and more insulting this time.—
Andy Naylor,
New York Times,
9 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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He is paired with an arrogant young partner (Lou), a second-generation political scion whose personality clashes sharply with his own.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
29 Jan. 2026
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In the early years of his fame as a writer, Rushdie had something of a reputation for being prickly and arrogant, but Gibney’s portrait reveals a man mellowed by time and experience.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
25 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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The Russian general was one of several GRU officials sanctioned by the United States in 2016 for wide-ranging malicious cyber activity directed at undermining US democratic processes.—
Anna Chernova,
CNN Money,
6 Feb. 2026
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The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links that install malware, potentially accessing your private information, is to have strong antivirus software installed on all your devices.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
5 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Said quest forces her to reexamine a revelatory affair with an RAF pilot, and consider how their engagement’s cruel ending set her on the path to a different sort of fulfillment.—
Hayley Maitland,
Vogue,
14 Feb. 2026
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Government should tame the savageness of man and make life in this world more gentle, not crueler.—
Eleanor Dearman,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
14 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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This subsided with unusual speed, however, as cricket fans took instead to sharing the self-deprecatory jokes coming over the border.—
The Economist,
The Economist,
22 June 2019
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Philipps has acquired her 1-million-and-growing Instagram followers through her self-deprecatory humor, raw honesty and vulnerability.—
Sonja Haller,
USA TODAY,
11 July 2018
Adjective
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Such links are abhorrent and corrosive to the trust on which the charitable sector depends.—
Benjamin Weinthal,
FOXNews.com,
5 Feb. 2026
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As abhorrent as these events were, what makes the situation worse — and what people are only now starting to talk about — is that Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection agents are almost entirely immune from criminal and civil accountability.—
Brian Kolp,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Scornful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scornful. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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