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
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
The Masked Man provides a running commentary, sometimes scornful but sometimes sympathetic.
—Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 12 May 2024
See All Example Sentences for scornful
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
The Masked Man provides a running commentary, sometimes scornful but sometimes sympathetic.
—Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 12 May 2024
See All Example Sentences for scornful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scornful
Adjective
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According to an ancient Greek myth, all those who had fallen in love with the young man Narcissus were met with contemptuous rejection.—
Abigayle Ward,
Hartford Courant,
8 Mar. 2025
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The president was also profoundly contemptuous of women, kept his true opposition to female suffrage carefully hidden, and allowed the suffragists who silently held banners outside the White House to be repeatedly attacked by mobs, beaten, and jailed.—
Foreign Affairs,
Foreign Affairs,
25 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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From above, the figurines almost appear to be grinning, but the face looks disdainful when viewed head-on.—
Mack DeGeurin,
Popular Science,
6 Mar. 2025
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Lingering at the edge of the group was Suzie, a petite woman with wild, white-blond hair as well as the spry yet disdainful affect of an inner-city nun.—
Kent Russell,
Harper's Magazine,
28 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Formula One's governing body, the FIA, has categorized certain actions and behaviors as 'misconduct,' which include insulting or inappropriate language and gestures.—
Josh Hammer,
Newsweek,
20 Mar. 2025
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Meghan’s infamous mock curtsy, which was seen as insulting… was [a] low point.—
Stephanie Nolasco,
Fox News,
17 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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In a world where deal flow is crucial, being labeled as an arrogant VC results in missing out on prime opportunities.—
David Nour,
Forbes.com,
31 Mar. 2025
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The arrogant anti-union stance did not start with the current CEO; even the legendary Studs Terkel was slapped down by WFMT management for his earlier support of an effort to unionize in 1990.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
29 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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The best way to safeguard against malicious links that install malware, potentially accessing your private information, is to have strong antivirus software installed on all your devices.—
Kurt Knutsson, CyberGuy Report,
Fox News,
23 Mar. 2025
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These methods can easily miss deeper behavioral indicators that would signal a malicious payload lurking beneath the surface.—
Alex Vakulov,
Forbes,
23 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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What's particularly cruel about that reality is that after years of dealing with questions about his weight, the former Duke Blue Devil star played a career-high 70 games in 2023-24.—
Bobby Krivitsky,
Forbes.com,
1 Apr. 2025
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Here, Munir may be vaccinating chickens rather than grabbing them on their way to slaughter, but the work is just as thankless and cruel.—
Bartolomeo Sala,
The Dial,
27 Mar. 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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Ever since Kanye West went on an abhorrent antisemitic tirade in fall 2022 — which cost him his billionaire status and lucrative partnerships with Adidas and Gap — the Grammy winner has been fighting off an ever-growing list of lawsuits.—
Cheyenne Roundtree,
Rolling Stone,
26 Feb. 2025
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Their actions were abhorrent and horrifying—and their apathy was obvious.—
Ross Overline,
Forbes,
19 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Scornful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scornful. Accessed 4 Apr. 2025.
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