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
Presiding over all this, white-haired, scornful and more than usually vicious, is McKellen’s self-serving, nakedly villainous Falstaff.
—
David Benedict, Variety, 12 Apr. 2024
Screenshots and copies of the complaint spread far and wide became fodder for the already overwhelming fire of scornful messages and posts towards the women, a lawyer for one of the women says.
—Kinsey Crowley, USA TODAY, 24 Mar. 2024
Some of the exhibits were simply embarrassing, such as scornful behind-the-scenes opinions about Trump, whose supporters form the core of the network’s viewers.
—David Bauder, Fortune, 18 Apr. 2023
The artist’s killing will always frame his reception, but there are six million earlier deaths that haunt his agitated, scornful, hard-to-shake pictures.
—Jason Farago, New York Times, 20 Dec. 2023
See all Example Sentences for scornful 
David Benedict, Variety, 12 Apr. 2024
Screenshots and copies of the complaint spread far and wide became fodder for the already overwhelming fire of scornful messages and posts towards the women, a lawyer for one of the women says.
—Kinsey Crowley, USA TODAY, 24 Mar. 2024
Some of the exhibits were simply embarrassing, such as scornful behind-the-scenes opinions about Trump, whose supporters form the core of the network’s viewers.
—David Bauder, Fortune, 18 Apr. 2023
The artist’s killing will always frame his reception, but there are six million earlier deaths that haunt his agitated, scornful, hard-to-shake pictures.
—Jason Farago, New York Times, 20 Dec. 2023
See all Example Sentences for scornful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scornful
Adjective
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The arguments Republicans have made in their opposition to Joe Biden’s contemptuous pardons are pretty compelling.—
Noah Rothman,
National Review,
21 Jan. 2025
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Written by Fielding, Richard Naylor and Jon Brittain, the series followed the contemptuous life of the 18th-century highwayman, known in York, England, as a thief, poacher and killer but whose exploits have been widely romanticized in modern culture.—
Lily Ford,
The Hollywood Reporter,
16 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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President-Elect Donald Trump is openly disdainful of many governments in Europe and seems willing to walk away from America’s role as the continent’s protector.—
Phillips Payson O’Brien,
The Atlantic,
13 Jan. 2025
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Now, the norms for AI will emerge in a political and cultural environment that's hostile to regulation and disdainful of limits.—
Scott Rosenberg,
Axios,
8 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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There would be nothing more insulting to our democracy, and to the memory of those who died in connection to that day, than letting rioters walk free.—
Michael Gfoeller And David H. Rundell,
Newsweek,
15 Jan. 2025
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This disastrous budget is even more insulting as Los Angeles County grapples with the devastation from four major fires.—
Bill Essayli,
Orange County Register,
11 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Julie Bowen and Christopher McDonald return as love interest Virginia Venit and arrogant rival Shooter McGavin, respectively, and the cast includes rookies like Bad Bunny, Travis Kelce and pro wrestler Maxwell Jacob Friedman.—
Brian Truitt,
USA TODAY,
17 Jan. 2025
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Those include genial second-year resident Dr. King (Taylor Dearden), arrogant intern Santos (Isa Briones), and doe-eyed med students Javadi (Shabana Azeez) and Whittaker (Gerran Howell).—
Ryan Schwartz,
TVLine,
9 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Ultimately, the debate over the ability of malicious hackers to trigger a continent-wide blackout is moot and a distraction from the issue that really matters.—
Dan Goodin,
Ars Technica,
23 Jan. 2025
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Android users can also keep Google Play Protect enabled to scan for malicious code—even on sideloaded apps.—
Kate Irwin,
PCMAG,
22 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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And having more thoughtful conversations doesn’t preclude the need sometimes to confront those who are needlessly cruel or organizations that benefit from such exploitation.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
18 Jan. 2025
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In recent months, the Justice Department and the state filed thousands of pages of new records in the lawsuit, including reports and sworn statements from pediatricians, scholars and others who describe Florida’s policies as archaic and cruel.—
Carol Marbin Miller,
Miami Herald,
17 Jan. 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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Detective Inspector Paul Dalton said offences of this nature are abhorrent and CPIU detectives are committed to protecting children from harm and holding offenders to account.—
Jon Haworth,
ABC News,
16 Jan. 2025
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The upshot for all this is, for the first time ever, neither Russia nor Iran nor Hezbollah could defend this abhorrent regime in Syria.—
Hannah Parry,
Newsweek,
9 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near scornful
Cite this Entry
“Scornful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scornful. Accessed 1 Feb. 2025.
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