spernere

Spernere is a Latin verb meaning to scorn, despise, or reject. In classical Latin it conveys strong contempt and is used of persons, opinions, or actions regarded as unworthy. The principal parts are spernō, spernere, sprēvī, sprētum, and it belongs to the third conjugation; the present infinitive is spernēre.

In syntax, spernēre takes a direct object in the accusative when specifying what is despised, and it can be combined with adjectives or phrases that express moral judgment. The verb yields a range of nuance from mild disdain to outright rejection, and it may appear in various tenses and voices through its conjugation. The perfect forms appear as sprēvī (I despised) and the supine sprētum is used in certain constructions.

Spernere is common in a wide range of genres, including epic, rhetoric, and prose, and it is often employed to articulate ethical or evaluative positions. Although the term is not frequent in everyday or colloquial Latin, it remains a standard example of a high-register verb used to express contempt or rejection.

In Latin lexicography and grammars, spernō and spernere are cited as a representative verb of value judgment and as a case study in third-conjugation irregularities and vowel alternations. The word also provides semantic ground for related adjectives and participles describing contempt or disdain.