What does "scorn" mean?
Contempt or disdain.
Scorn
/skɔːn/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Contempt or disdain.
- Grammar: scorn is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: contempt, disdain, abhor, abomination.
- Useful contrasts: adoring, accept, admiration.
- Usage evidence: Silence is the most perfect expression of scorn.
How to use "scorn"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "scorn" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "scorn" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "scorn" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "scorn" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "scorn" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "contempt" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "scorn", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Contempt or disdain. uncountable
"Rain of tears, real, mist of imagined scorn"
- 2 open disrespect for a person or thing wordnet
- 3 A display of disdain; a slight. countable
"VVith ſcoffes and ſcornes, and contumelious taunts, / In open Market-place produc't they me, / To be a publique ſpectacle to all: / Here, ſayd they, is the Terror of the French, / The Scar-Crovv that affrights our Children ſo."
- 4 lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike wordnet
- 5 An object of disdain, contempt, or derision. countable
"Thou makest us a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and a derision to them that are round about us."
Verb
- 1 To feel or display contempt or disdain for something or somebody; to despise. transitive
"The Cry is ſtill, they come: our Caſtles ſtrength / Will laugh a Siedge to ſcorne"
- 2 reject with contempt wordnet
- 3 To reject, turn down. transitive
"He scorned her romantic advances."
- 4 look down on with disdain wordnet
- 5 To refuse to do something, as beneath oneself. transitive
"She scorned to show weakness."
Show 1 more definition
- 6 To scoff, to express contempt. intransitive
"For miſerie doth braueſt mindes abate, / And make them ſeeke for that they wont to ſcorne, / Of fortune and of hope at once forlorne."
Antonyms
Example
"Silence is the most perfect expression of scorn."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "scorn"?
Common synonyms include: contempt, disdain, abhor, abomination, airs, arrogance.
How do you use "scorn" in a sentence?
Silence is the most perfect expression of scorn.
How do you pronounce "scorn"?
Pronounced /skɔːn/.
Etymology
Verb from Middle English scornen, schornen, alteration of Old French escharnir, from Vulgar Latin *escarnire, from Proto-West Germanic *skarnijan, possibly from Proto-Germanic *skeraną (“to shear”) (from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to cut”)), or possibly related to *skarną (“dung, filth”) (from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱerd-, *(s)ḱer- (“dung, manure, filth”)). Noun from Old French escarn (cognate with Portuguese escárnio, Spanish escarnio and Italian scherno). Cognate with Middle High German schern (“joke, mockery, scorn”), Old English sċierniċġe (“female entertainer, juggler, actress”).