SPURN
What does "SPURN" mean?
To reject or refuse someone or something with disdain or contempt.
Meanings
- To reject scornfully or contemptuously. She spurned his apology and walked out without a word. formal
- To strike or kick away with the foot. He spurned the loose stone from the path as he climbed. archaic
Did you know?
- The disdainful 'reject' sense grew out of a literal one: Old English 'spurnan' meant to kick or trip over something, so to spurn was once to kick it underfoot.
Word origin
From Old English 'spurnan', meaning to kick or strike against, related to 'spur'; the sense shifted from kicking away physically to rejecting with scorn.
Remember it
To SPURN is to turn on your heel and SPUR away - the kick of refusal.
A little poem
He held the gift out, open, slow;
she met his hand with one cold no.
couplet
Wordplay
- I tried to give the horse a compliment, but it spurned me - turns out it only responds to a spur.
What it teaches
What you spurn in pride often returns in regret; refuse coldly and the door may not open twice.
Quick facts
What does SPURN mean?
To reject or refuse someone or something with disdain or contempt.
Is SPURN a valid word?
Yes — SPURN is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is SPURN?
SPURN has 5 letters and 1 syllable.
Where does SPURN come from?
From Old English 'spurnan', meaning to kick or strike against, related to 'spur'; the sense shifted from kicking away physically to rejecting with scorn.
What can SPURN teach us?
What you spurn in pride often returns in regret; refuse coldly and the door may not open twice.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.