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
Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 23 Apr. 2026
However, four of the signatories spurned the agreement and resumed fighting after the 2021 army takeover.
—ABC News, 21 Apr. 2026
The two women haven’t spoken in 10 years when Mother Mary shows up on Sam Anselm’s doorstep with sad eyes and stringy hair, like a lost dog who got caught in the rain, and her spurned BFF leaps at the chance to make the most of her leverage.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 14 Apr. 2026
The 6-foot-5, 300-pound Hiller spurned Alabama, Ohio State and Tennessee to join a program in need of talent up front during first-year head coach Jon Sumrall’s rebuild.
—Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 9 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for spurn
Verb
In a flurry of rapid-fire votes, most Senate Republicans spurned a group of measures Democrats said would lower everyday costs for Americans while separately moving to approve $70 billion for immigration enforcement.
—Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 23 Apr. 2026
However, four of the signatories spurned the agreement and resumed fighting after the 2021 army takeover.
—ABC News, 21 Apr. 2026
The two women haven’t spoken in 10 years when Mother Mary shows up on Sam Anselm’s doorstep with sad eyes and stringy hair, like a lost dog who got caught in the rain, and her spurned BFF leaps at the chance to make the most of her leverage.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 14 Apr. 2026
The 6-foot-5, 300-pound Hiller spurned Alabama, Ohio State and Tennessee to join a program in need of talent up front during first-year head coach Jon Sumrall’s rebuild.
—Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 9 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for spurn
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spurn
Verb
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California's 7th Congressional District candidate and Sacramento City Councilmember Mai Vang is receiving pushback after videos resurfaced of her refusing to say the Pledge of Allegiance.—
Lindsay Kornick,
FOXNews.com,
26 May 2026
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Bis, the Homeland Security spokesperson, said Aceituno acted erratically, escalated the situation and refused to comply with officers’ commands.—
Andrea Castillo,
Los Angeles Times,
26 May 2026
Noun
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But Israel tops all concerns for some leftists, so Greene’s reversal on the issue is enough to win their support, and AOC’s refusal to embrace her is seen as a counterproductive purity test.—
Arash Azizi,
The Atlantic,
22 May 2026
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In April, the museum turned down the Guggenheim Bilbao’s request to borrow Pablo Picasso’s Guernica, one of the key jewels in its collection, prompting Basque officials to seek meetings with Spain’s culture minister, Ernest Urtasun, to determine whether the refusal could be overridden.—
News Desk,
Artforum,
22 May 2026
Verb
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The court rejected Florida’s complaint that those states allow undocumented immigrants who lack training and are not proficient in English to drive commercial trucks.—
Maureen Groppe,
USA Today,
26 May 2026
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Earlier this year, YouTube content creator Markiplier self-distributed his horror movie Iron Lung after numerous studios and distributors had rejected the project.—
Ryan Gajewski,
HollywoodReporter,
26 May 2026
Noun
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Despite the Reina Sofía’s many refusals to lend the work to various institutions around the world, its rebuff of the Guggenheim’s request carries a particular sting because the Basque Country has long held that the painting belongs in the place where the depicted tragedy occurred.—
News Desk,
Artforum,
1 Apr. 2026
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The latest rebuff of state overreach was the dismissal last week of the highly questionable felony case against respected Waukegan City Clerk Janet Kilkelly brought by the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office.—
Charles Selle,
Chicago Tribune,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Mahuna declined to say what evidence led investigators to identify Baker as a suspect.—
Tim Stelloh,
NBC news,
29 May 2026
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Officials cited budget deficits, underutilized buildings, and declining enrollment as reasons for the closures.—
Finch Walker,
USA Today,
28 May 2026
Noun
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The results were widely interpreted as a repudiation of Labour's performance to date by British voters.—
David Brennan,
ABC News,
12 May 2026
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Until then, smuggling weed had been a grand adventure, an escape from a society that had just thrown Prager’s generation into a meat grinder in Vietnam, a repudiation of the crooked politicians and backward preachers and greedy capitalists who were running the world.—
Jack Crosbie,
Rolling Stone,
17 Mar. 2026
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 30 May. 2026.
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