scornful
scorn·ful/ˈskɔɹnfəl/adjective
scornful is spelled S-C-O-R-N-F-U-L: 8 letters and 2 syllables (scorn·ful). It appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 67,454th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, scornful means “Showing scorn or disrespect; contemptuous; scathing; withering” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in scornful?
| Letters | 8: S-C-O-R-N-F-U-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: scorn·ful |
| In writing | about once in every 5 million words; the 67,454th 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; 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 scornful?
Scornful appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 67,454th 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 scornful?
- US /ˈskɔɹnfəl/
- UK /ˈskɔːnfəl/
Scornful has 2 syllables, split scorn·ful in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-scornful.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with scornful?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as scornful from its last stressed vowel (/ɔɹnfəl/):
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 scornful
- more scornful comparative
- most scornful superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does scornful mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Showing scorn or disrespect; contemptuous; scathing; withering.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Scornful in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense showing scorn or disrespect; contemptuous:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | méprisant, dédaigneux |
| German | verächtlich |
| Spanish | despreciativo |
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 scornful come from?
Inherited from Middle English scornful; equivalent to scorn + -ful.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).