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
With the scornful wave spreading across social media, Marvel waded in to stem the tide.
—
Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Feb. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for scornful
Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Feb. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for scornful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scornful
Adjective
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The house’s inhabitants include a servant who is even more bitter and contemptuous than Miss Bohun; an old man who lives in the attic and only comes down for dinner; and a young widow who moves in a few weeks after Felix.—
The Know,
Denver Post,
18 May 2025
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This is a club that had failed to lift domestic silverware for 70 years and, for more than three-quarters of Neave’s life, had displayed an almost contemptuous attitude towards knockout competitions.—
Chris Waugh,
New York Times,
16 May 2025
Adjective
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Wise minds inside the Trump administration will hopefully choose to drop a suit first introduced during by a Biden administration reflexively disdainful of big.—
John Tamny,
Forbes.com,
10 Apr. 2025
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Now, with Donald J. Trump installed in the White House, Mr. Zelensky is facing a new challenge: maintaining good relations with the country’s most critical ally and a president who has been disdainful toward him and skeptical of military aid.—
Andrew E. Kramer,
New York Times,
23 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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The state legislature just passed the most insulting budget and laws this state has ever seen.—
Michelle Jefferson,
Baltimore Sun,
4 June 2025
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Despite the decision falling in line with White House policy, Rep. Nancy Pelosi – whose San Francisco district includes the Castro – said erasing Milk from the military is particularly insulting.—
Andy Rose,
CNN Money,
4 June 2025
Adjective
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Richard was known for being outspoken, if not arrogant, consistently rubbing his Tagi tribe the wrong way and offending some of them with his blatant display of nudity on the island.—
Nick Caruso,
TVLine,
27 May 2025
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Multiple people described him to me as unpopular and arrogant.—
Amanda Chicago Lewis,
Harpers Magazine,
29 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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This is the threat potential given commonalities despite seemingly different developers, and those links to malicious domains.—
Zak Doffman,
Forbes.com,
4 June 2025
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Newark Mayor Ras Baraka filed a lawsuit against interim U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Alina Habba on Tuesday, accusing her of malicious prosecution over his arrest outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility last month.—
Alexander Mallin,
ABC News,
3 June 2025
Adjective
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The reason Evin is infamous is because of its terribly cruel high security detention centers that are poorly supervised by the Prison Chief.—
Jeff Kaufman,
Time,
30 May 2025
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But then perhaps that is her unsatisfying but depressingly undeniable point: there is no challenging minds this small, behaviors this cruel, spirits this mean.—
Jessica Kiang,
Variety,
30 May 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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Theoretically, minimizing a grueling 162-game regular season into a single contest to determine who advances is abhorrent.—
Tim Britton,
New York Times,
30 May 2025
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Nothing was more abhorrent to the cult, though, than the concept of homosexuality, and that was a problem for Nikki, who realised she was attracted to women at a young age.—
Oliver Brandt,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Scornful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scornful. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
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