Meanings
nounscornfulness (uncountable)
- uncountableThe quality of being scornful.
It bears no real resemblance to that attitude of negativity and jaded scornfulness that sees the worst of intentions behind the apparent good motives of others.
2009 April 1, Simon Critchley, “Cynicism We Can Believe In”, in New York Times
Origin
- Middle Englishscorn
- Proto-Indo-European*pleh₁-
- Proto-Indo-European*pl̥h₁nós
- Proto-Germanic*fullaz
- Middle Englishscornful
- Englishscornful
- Englishscornfulness
Cite this entry
APA
scornfulness. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scornfulness
MLA
“scornfulness.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scornfulness. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “scornfulness,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scornfulness.
Source: scornfulness on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.