scorn
/skɔɹn/verb, noun
scorn is spelled S-C-O-R-N: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 24,463rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, scorn means “To feel or display contempt or disdain for something or somebody; to despise” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in scorn?
| Letters | 5: S-C-O-R-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.3 times per million words; the 24,463rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is scorn?
Scorn appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 24,463rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce scorn?
- UK /skɔːn/
- US /skɔɹn/
Scorn has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-scorn.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with scorn?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as scorn from its last stressed vowel (/ɔɹn/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of scorn
- scorns present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- scorning participle, present
- scorned participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does scorn mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To feel or display contempt or disdain for something or somebody; to despise.
- 2
To reject, turn down with disdain.
He scorned her romantic advances.
- 3
To refuse to do something, as beneath oneself.
She scorned to show weakness.
- 4
To scoff, to express contempt.
noun
- 1
Contempt or disdain.
- 2
A display of disdain; a slight.
- 3
An object of disdain, contempt, or derision.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Scorn in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | mépriser, dédaigner , mépris, dédain |
| German | verachten , Verachtung , verschmähen , verspotten |
| Portuguese | desprezar, desdenhar, menosprezar , desprezo, escárnio, desdém |
| Spanish | despreciar, desdeñar, menospreciar , desprecio , rechazar , escarnecer |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does scorn come from?
Verb from Middle English scornen, schornen, alteration of Old French escharnir, from Vulgar Latin *escarnire, from Proto-West Germanic *skarnijan, possibly from Proto-Germanic *skeraną (“to shear”) (from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to cut”)), or possibly related to *skarną (“dung, filth”) (from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱerd-, *(s)ḱer- (“dung, manure, filth”)). Noun from Old French escarn (cognate with Portuguese escárnio, Spanish escarnio and Italian scherno). Cognate with Middle High German schern (“joke, mockery, scorn”), Old English sċierniċġe (“female entertainer, juggler, actress”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).