spurn
verb /spɜːn/
/spɜːrn/
(formal or literary)Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they spurn | /spɜːn/ /spɜːrn/ |
| he / she / it spurns | /spɜːnz/ /spɜːrnz/ |
| past simple spurned | /spɜːnd/ /spɜːrnd/ |
| past participle spurned | /spɜːnd/ /spɜːrnd/ |
| -ing form spurning | /ˈspɜːnɪŋ/ /ˈspɜːrnɪŋ/ |
- spurn somebody/something to reject or refuse somebody/something, especially in a proud way synonym shun
- Eve spurned Mark's invitation.
- a spurned lover
- The president spurned the tight security surrounding him and adopted a more intimate style of campaigning.
Extra ExamplesTopics Personal qualitiesc2- He had been spurned by all the major record companies.
- She spurned his overtures of love.
- The glossy conventions of Hollywood were spurned in favour of a rough-hewn cinematic style.
Oxford Collocations DictionarySpurn is used with these nouns as the object:- overture
Word OriginOld English spurnan, spornan; related to Latin spernere ‘to scorn’; compare with spur.