scorn  (skôrn)
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n.1. a. Contempt or disdain felt toward a person or object considered despicable or unworthy: viewed his rivals with scorn. b. The expression of such an attitude in behavior or speech; derision: heaped scorn upon his rivals. c. The state of being despised or dishonored: held in scorn by his rivals. 2. Archaic One spoken of or treated with contempt. tr.v. scorned, scorn·ing, scorns 1. To consider or treat as contemptible or unworthy: an artist who was scorned by conservative critics. 2. To reject or refuse with derision: scorned their offer of help. See Synonyms at despise. 3. To consider or reject (doing something) as beneath one's dignity: "She disapproved so heartily of Flora's plan that she would have scorned to assist in the concoction of a single oily sentence" (Stella Gibbons).
[Middle English, from Old French escarn, of Germanic origin.]
scorner n. scornful adj. scornful·ly adv. scornful·ness n. |
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