spurn

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spurn / spərn/ • v. [tr.] reject with disdain or contempt: he spoke gruffly, as if afraid that his invitation would be spurned. ∎ archaic strike, tread, or push away with the foot: with one touch of my feet, I spurn the solid Earth.• n. archaic an act of spurning.DERIVATIVES: spurn·er n.ORIGIN: Old English spurnan, spornan; related to Latin spernere ‘to scorn’; compare with spur.

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