What does scorning mean?
Scorning means expressing contempt, ridicule, or dismissive rejection toward a person, idea, practice, or outcome. The word carries a strong, often literary tone and suggests that what is being treated with contempt is considered trivial, unworthy, or offensive. It can describe a deliberate verbal attack, as in scorning remarks, but also a broader attitude, as in the scorning of authority. As the present participle of scorn, it may function as a gerund or as an adjective modifying another noun. In ordinary contemporary writing, the base form scorn is often more natural when referring simply to the attitude or action. Scorning is especially effective when it conveys not only disagreement but active contempt, and it should therefore be used with care when the intended meaning is merely criticism or skepticism.
verbTo express contempt for someone or something, especially by speaking about it dismissively or with mockery. As a gerund or present participle, it can describe an action or a quality, as in “scornful remarks.”
- To express contempt for someone or something.
- To dismiss or reject something with contempt.
- Used as a gerund or present participle to describe an action, as in “the scorning of authority,” or a quality, as in “scorning laughter.”
"She responded to the proposal with open scorn."
"The playwright used the character to voice her scorning of social convention."
"He met the criticism with scoring remarks rather than a serious reply."
To scorn something is not merely to dislike it: it is to treat it as unworthy of serious regard.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of scorning
The word comes from the Old English verb scorn, meaning to reject or treat with disdain, and from the related Old English noun scorn, meaning contempt or mockery. The modern form developed through Middle English and was influenced by Old French scorn, from a Germanic source. The root is reflected in related words such as scornful and scornfully, while similar forms appear in other Germanic languages.
Related word forms
How scorning is actually used
Scorning is literary and often deliberately heightened or rhetorical. In modern English, it is more common as a gerund or participle than as a finite verb; “scorn” is usually the preferred form in general writing.
Easily confused with scorning
Scorn expresses contempt or dismissive rejection, while scoff is often a more verbal or mocking expression of ridicule.