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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in refusal
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of spurn
Dani Di Placido, Forbes.com, 10 July 2025
Guthrie, her fiancé, took to casually goading Loeb about how Twysden now spurned him, while Loeb accepted the insults with a stoic passivity, mooning over Twysden, the others felt, like a lovesick puppy.
—Tony Perrottet, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 June 2025
Some will retreat from public life, spurning those closest to them in favor of an imaginary narrative woven with these programs.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 22 June 2025
On Thursday, Putin spurned an offer by Zelensky to meet face-to-face in Turkey.
—Hanna Arhirova, Los Angeles Times, 16 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for spurn
Noun
The hosts and spurned guest dispute what really happened that day, but TikTokers seem to have made up their minds.
—Dani Di Placido, Forbes.com, 10 July 2025
Guthrie, her fiancé, took to casually goading Loeb about how Twysden now spurned him, while Loeb accepted the insults with a stoic passivity, mooning over Twysden, the others felt, like a lovesick puppy.
—Tony Perrottet, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 June 2025
Some will retreat from public life, spurning those closest to them in favor of an imaginary narrative woven with these programs.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 22 June 2025
On Thursday, Putin spurned an offer by Zelensky to meet face-to-face in Turkey.
—Hanna Arhirova, Los Angeles Times, 16 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for spurn
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spurn
Verb
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The Yankees’ lineup, meanwhile, didn’t put up a fight against Spencer Strider, who refused to surrender a run, walked three and struck out eight over six innings.—
Gary Phillips,
New York Daily News,
19 July 2025
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Kirton on Friday acknowledged he’d been given the training directive in 2022, but said his attorney advised him against attending or signing the form because Bloomfield leaders refused to show them the investigative report.—
Don Stacom,
Hartford Courant,
19 July 2025
Noun
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But Committee Chair James Comer criticized O'Conner over his refusal to answer questions saying there had been a conspiracy to cover up Biden's cognitive decline.—
Brendan Cole,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 July 2025
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Also on Wednesday, the Trump administration sued the state over its refusal to ban transgender girls from competing in girls’ athletic programs.—
Sacbee.com,
Sacbee.com,
10 July 2025
Verb
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New York’s 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Maxwell’s appeal effort last year, finding that the deal drawn up in 2007 and approved the following year only protected Epstein and his coconspirators in South Florida.—
Molly Crane-Newman,
New York Daily News,
15 July 2025
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If anyone else tries such commands, the AGI and ASI reject them summarily.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
15 July 2025
Verb
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Brown-Forman's sales declined 5% in the 2025 fiscal year, partly due to ongoing tariff disputes.—
Olivia Evans,
The Courier-Journal,
25 July 2025
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When reached on the phone, Gate of the Era declined to comment.—
Jennifer Ouellette,
ArsTechnica,
24 July 2025
Noun
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The modern cinema isn’t a repudiation of stories but a point of view on them—neither a rejection of them nor an assumption of them but an effort to discover them.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
20 May 2025
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Gelsinger’s departure late last year was widely seen as a repudiation by the company of his complex turnaround plan, which included trying to rebuild Intel’s manufacturing base.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
27 Mar. 2025
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 29 Jul. 2025.
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