scornfully

adverb

as in contemptuously

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of scornfully As if the question arose, thought Leonora scornfully. — Literary Hub, 15 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scornfully
  1. contemptuously
  2. disdainfully
  3. viciously
  4. bitterly
Adverb
  • Hazel swung the lamp in her hand and looked contemptuously at Ginny, surrounded by the naturalists and the teachers, who whispered encouragement.
    — Yiyun Li, New Yorker, 1 Mar. 2026
  • Men sneered contemptuously at them, while teenagers used their names as insults.
    — Mikhail Zygar, Vanity Fair, 7 Jan. 2026
Definition of contemptuously
Adverb
  • The camera then switches from the chaos of the puppy, to the kitten—who is sitting in a relaxed position, blinking slowly, and staring almost disdainfully at the wriggling puppy.
    — Rachael O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Oct. 2025
  • Bella, in her podcast conversation with Trinny Woodall, recalled that once, at a village post office, a shop assistant disdainfully called her a hippie.
    — Rebecca Mead, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2025
Definition of disdainfully
Adverb
  • In an early 2000s commercial, Michelob Ultra portrayed a woman getting viciously tackled in a football game at a park.
    — Jon Root OutKick, FOXNews.com, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Reyes allegedly smashed a hole through a closet wall from the neighboring apartment and viciously attacked the teen.
    — Samira Asma-Sadeque, PEOPLE, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of viciously
Adverb
  • Although the Supreme Court’s power to overrule Congress is now broadly accepted, it was bitterly contested for more than a century.
    — Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026
  • After six months of war, the deadlock has left the Islamic Republic bitterly divided, while its ultimate arbiter, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, remains in hiding.
    — Mostafa Salem, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of bitterly

Browse Nearby Words

scornful
scornfully
scorning
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Cite this Entry

“Scornfully.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scornfully. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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