as in to refuse
to show unwillingness to accept, do, engage in, or agree to
fiercely independent, the elderly couple spurned all offers of financial help
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in refusal
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of spurn
Simmone Shah, Time, 25 Aug. 2025
His 17 years as the school’s head football coach were among the most successful in school history and he was seen as a Wildcat icon, having spurned interest from bigger schools in order to remain with his alma mater.
—Kyle Feldscher, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2025
Ford canceled one family of EVs, then spurned its traditional engineering structure and staff to develop others.
—Mark Phelan, USA Today, 15 Aug. 2025
Shortly after spurning his conjugal love tent vehicle, Colby received a call from Pontiac with a proposition.
—EW.com, 13 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spurn
Noun
The heat spurned wildfires that continue to blaze, and has been linked to more than 1,000 deaths.
—Simmone Shah, Time, 25 Aug. 2025
His 17 years as the school’s head football coach were among the most successful in school history and he was seen as a Wildcat icon, having spurned interest from bigger schools in order to remain with his alma mater.
—Kyle Feldscher, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2025
Ford canceled one family of EVs, then spurned its traditional engineering structure and staff to develop others.
—Mark Phelan, USA Today, 15 Aug. 2025
Shortly after spurning his conjugal love tent vehicle, Colby received a call from Pontiac with a proposition.
—EW.com, 13 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spurn
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spurn
Verb
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In the affidavit, a detective noted that Decker — who was divorced from his daughters’ mother — refused to sign a parenting plan that required him to seek mental health treatment and domestic violence anger management.—
Tim Stelloh,
NBC news,
25 Sep. 2025
-
These include satellites apparently so secret that the US government refused to identify the agency that owns them.—
Benj Edwards,
ArsTechnica,
25 Sep. 2025
Noun
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That refusal is the through-line.—
Skylar Mitchell,
Essence,
29 Sep. 2025
-
This scene played out repeatedly during the couple’s travels across Europe, Alaska and beyond – a testament not only to human kindness but to their spirit and refusal to let Trish’s multiple sclerosis stop them from traveling.—
Barbara Bry,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
28 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Prosecutors also sought another charge of making false statements, court documents released Thursday show, but the grand jury rejected it.—
Chad de Guzman,
Time,
26 Sep. 2025
-
ByteDance and TikTok had challenged the law on First Amendment grounds but the Supreme Court rejected its appeal.—
Todd Spangler,
Variety,
25 Sep. 2025
Noun
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There was a unilateral rebuff toward the idea that the industry is experiencing a drummer shortage in general.—
Devon Ivie,
Vulture,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Rizzo declined to comment on any potential campaign, pointing to ongoing efforts to strike down the map.—
Kacen Bayless,
Kansas City Star,
25 Sep. 2025
-
Energy demands around the world are rising, and with the increasing impacts of climate change and the declining efficiency of existing infrastructure, the situation is likely to worsen.—
Lauren Giella,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Sep. 2025
Noun
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If Helmy finds in the Party the kind of fellowship and outlet for his energies that a good career might otherwise have satisfied, Erich embraces his new identity with a snarling brutality that is a repudiation of his former sense of humiliation.—
Rebecca Mead,
New Yorker,
19 Aug. 2025
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And to be fair, most of the departures weren’t a repudiation of Amador’s appointment.—
David Lyman,
The Enquirer,
7 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Larger than life, his creation repulses and torments him, and Victor spends the rest of his life both running from it and trying to destroy it.—
Ann Kowal Smith,
Forbes,
16 Dec. 2024
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The optical, stop-motion, and puppetry effects alone should make Brain Damage a priority on your watchlist, but Henenlotter’s film excites and repulses on a deeper level.—
Rory Doherty,
Vulture,
19 Sep. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Spurn.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spurn. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.
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