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
Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of scornful
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.
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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
Her mother had left, and Watt had to figure out next steps under the scornful eyes of her father.
—WIRED, 17 Oct. 2023
See all Example Sentences for scornful 
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
Her mother had left, and Watt had to figure out next steps under the scornful eyes of her father.
—WIRED, 17 Oct. 2023
See all Example Sentences for scornful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scornful
Adjective
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Evie, who has recently married another woman, is contemptuous of a religion that doesn’t hold space for her identity.Alex Jhamb Burns, Vogue, 16 Dec. 2024
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Reporters circle, looking for a chance to embarrass the military for accepting Black women into its ranks, while male colleagues are openly disrespectful, with Gen. Halt (Dean Norris) setting a contemptuous example from the top.Peter Debruge, Variety, 6 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Just days before the Nov. 5 general election, at a time when both campaigns are fighting for voters’ attention, Biden’s remark has given the Trump campaign fodder to portray Biden and the Democrats as divisive or disdainful of Trump’s base of supporters.Shawn Raymundo, The Arizona Republic, 1 Nov. 2024
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Piketty’s inattention to that problem comes across as deliberate and almost disdainful.Arvind Subramanian, Foreign Affairs, 9 June 2020
Adjective
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Arizona State football fans slam 'truly insulting' College Football Playoff graphic Winter swoon: December has not been kind to Phoenix Suns in recent years The vehicle backed out of the driveway and into the road.Olivia Rose, The Arizona Republic, 13 Dec. 2024
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The dawning of his second term has invoked jubilation from those who welcome Trump back to the Oval Office and fear from those alarmed by his insulting rhetoric about political opponents, the media, migrants and others.Alexandria Burris, The Indianapolis Star, 14 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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Some media outlets are surrendering to Trump already This absurd boasting — arrogant without portfolio — is just what Trump is looking for in the VOA job.Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 13 Dec. 2024
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Angle was able to alter between arrogant heel and lovable goofball almost on a whim.Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 9 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Four vulnerabilities in WebKit were fixed in iOS 18.2, allowing memory corruption if you were persuaded to interact with malicious web content.Kate O'Flaherty, Forbes, 12 Dec. 2024
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The best way to safeguard yourself from 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, 11 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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The gods prove cruel but not omnipotent, and the modern settings exert their own redemptive pull; the final effect is that of a magic trick, in which the characters manage, in each film’s miraculous closing moments, to slip the bonds of tragedy.Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 18 Dec. 2024
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Some Rochester residents disagree and find their city’s methods excessively cruel to the birds.Eli Wizevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Dec. 2024
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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The scene was particularly challenging for Hoult, who had to convey with passionate conviction an ideology that is personally abhorrent to him.Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 27 Nov. 2024
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This is the latest abhorrent act in the regime’s long history of transnational repression and accelerating rate of executions.Benjamin Weinthal, Fox News, 28 Oct. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near scornful
Cite this Entry
“Scornful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scornful. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
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