spurn
Use Spurn in a sentence
verb (used with object)
1.
to reject with disdain; scorn.
2.
to treat with contempt; despise.
3.
to kick or trample with the foot.
verb (used without object)
4.
to show disdain or contempt; scorn something.
noun
5.
disdainful rejection.
6.
contemptuous treatment.
7.
a kick.
Origin:
1250–1300; (v.) Middle English spurnen, Old English spurnan; cognate with Old Saxon, Old High German spurnan, Old Norse sporna to kick; akin to Latin spernere to put away; (noun) Middle English: a kick, contemptuous stroke, derivative of the noun
1250–1300; (v.) Middle English spurnen, Old English spurnan; cognate with Old Saxon, Old High German spurnan, Old Norse sporna to kick; akin to Latin spernere to put away; (noun) Middle English: a kick, contemptuous stroke, derivative of the noun
Related forms
spurn·er, noun
out·spurn, verb (used with object)
un·spurned, adjective
Antonyms
1. accept.
1. accept.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To spurn
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Spurn
is a GRE word you need to know.
So is churl. Does it mean:
| rude, boorish, or surly person |
| reproach in a sarcastic, insulting, or jeering manner |
Collins
World English Dictionary
spurn (spɜːn) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb (when intr, | |
| 1. | to reject (a person or thing) with contempt |
| 2. | archaic to kick (at) |
| —n | |
| 3. | an instance of spurning |
| 4. | archaic a kick or thrust |
| [Old English spurnan; related to Old Norse sporna, Old High German spurnan, Latin spernere to despise, Lithuanian spiriu to kick] | |
| 'spurner | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
spurn
O.E. spurnan "to kick (away), reject, scorn, despise," from P.Gmc. *spurnanan (cf. O.S., O.H.G. spurnan, O.Fris. spurna, O.N. sporna "to kick"), from PIE base *spere- "ankle" (cf. M.Du. spoor "track of an animal," Gk. sphyron "ankle," L. spernere "to reject, spurn," Skt. sphurati "kicks," M.Ir. seir
"heel").
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Cite This Source
Example sentences
Even while you spurn them, they court you,-rural deities and others of every kind that frequent these mountains.
Today, conservation-minded scientists spurn trawling whenever possible, especially in commercial fisheries.
But the demonstrators spurn this, saying it will make the developers richer but not make housing cheaper.
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