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
With the scornful wave spreading across social media, Marvel waded in to stem the tide.
—
Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Feb. 2025
What price female solidarity and empowerment, after all, if the weapon of actualization is an abusive system, one that invariably draws Santosh into its clubby, scornful, vigilante mindset?
—Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 10 Jan. 2025
Yet feeling out of place has, ironically, brought Escola even closer to their Mary Todd Lincoln, whose fear that a scornful world might keep her offstage gives the show an unexpected pathos.
—Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 2 Aug. 2024
The president has outlined a deeply misguided foreign policy vision that is distrustful of U.S. allies, scornful of international institutions, and indifferent, if not downright hostile, to the liberal international order that the United States has sustained for nearly eight decades.
—Eliot A. Cohen, Foreign Affairs, 11 Dec. 2018
See All Example Sentences for scornful
Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Feb. 2025
What price female solidarity and empowerment, after all, if the weapon of actualization is an abusive system, one that invariably draws Santosh into its clubby, scornful, vigilante mindset?
—Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 10 Jan. 2025
Yet feeling out of place has, ironically, brought Escola even closer to their Mary Todd Lincoln, whose fear that a scornful world might keep her offstage gives the show an unexpected pathos.
—Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 2 Aug. 2024
The president has outlined a deeply misguided foreign policy vision that is distrustful of U.S. allies, scornful of international institutions, and indifferent, if not downright hostile, to the liberal international order that the United States has sustained for nearly eight decades.
—Eliot A. Cohen, Foreign Affairs, 11 Dec. 2018
See All Example Sentences for scornful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scornful
Adjective
-
This is a club that had failed to lift domestic silverware for 70 years and, for more than three-quarters of Neave’s life, had displayed an almost contemptuous attitude towards knockout competitions.—
Chris Waugh,
New York Times,
16 May 2025
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In contrast to contemptuous speech, treating people with dignity recognizes the inherent worth of every person and leaves space for holding people accountable by focusing on facts, actions, decisions and outcomes.—
Timothy Shriver,
Twin Cities,
14 May 2025
Adjective
-
Wise minds inside the Trump administration will hopefully choose to drop a suit first introduced during by a Biden administration reflexively disdainful of big.—
John Tamny,
Forbes.com,
10 Apr. 2025
-
Now, with Donald J. Trump installed in the White House, Mr. Zelensky is facing a new challenge: maintaining good relations with the country’s most critical ally and a president who has been disdainful toward him and skeptical of military aid.—
Andrew E. Kramer,
New York Times,
23 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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The idea that women need to be properly taught how to conceive a child through a government program is a particularly insulting proposal, says Reshma Saujani, the founder and CEO of Moms First.—
Stephanie McNeal,
Glamour,
22 Apr. 2025
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But in March, U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle in Tacoma, Wash., ruled for several long-serving transgender military members who say that the ban is insulting and discriminatory and that their firing would cause lasting damage to their careers and reputations.—
Mark Sherman,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
By losing some of its arrogant charm, Doom has also lost the means to back it up.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
15 May 2025
-
For example, when a man in his sixties talks about the same thing, he’s seen as calm and logical, but when a woman in her twenties talks about it, she’s seen as arrogant or trying to act mature.—
Billboard Japan,
Billboard,
15 May 2025
Adjective
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The ransomware attacks in question started with malicious Google Ads deployed by the threat actors.—
Davey Winder,
Forbes.com,
11 May 2025
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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,
8 May 2025
Adjective
-
Scheifele’s emotional and inspirational decision to play mere hours after his father’s unexpected death — to play for his dad, to play because of his dad — ended in cruel fashion, with Scheifele helpless in the penalty box.—
Mark Lazerus,
New York Times,
18 May 2025
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At first the program seems to be benign, but Hayakawa’s film steadily reveals how the policy thrives on the cruel capitalist tenet that people are disposable.—
Lovia Gyarkye,
HollywoodReporter,
17 May 2025
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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What Israel is promising is not yet another round of fighting, but a criminal escalation of a morally abhorrent war.—
Zack Beauchamp,
Vox,
12 May 2025
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Our hearts go out to all of those affected by this abhorrent act.—
Alexandra Koch,
FOXNews.com,
30 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Scornful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scornful. Accessed 24 May. 2025.
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