Hell Hath No Fury Like a Woman Scorned
Scorn is contempt mixed with rejection. The famous line about it is usually misquoted and rarely credited correctly.
Scorn is open contempt, usually with rejection attached. The best-known line about it is a misquotation: William Congreve wrote 'Heav'n has no rage like love to hatred turn'd, Nor Hell a fury like a woman scorn'd' in *The Mourning Bride* of 1697. Almost everyone repeats a smoothed version, and many attribute it to Shakespeare. The word came through Old French from a Germanic root meaning to mock, and gives *scornful*.
- Open contempt. *Treated with scorn.*
- To reject with contempt. *She scorned the offer.*
- Scornful — the adjective. *A scornful look.*
- Congreve — who wrote the line. *The Mourning Bride.*
- Old French — *escarn*, mockery. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | scorn | Pure scorn. |
| Verb | scorn | Scorn it. |
| Past | scorned | Scorned. |
| Adjective | scornful | Scornful. |
| Adverb | scornfully | Scornfully. |
- He poured scorn on the plan.Contempt.
- She scorned their sympathy.Rejection.
- Congreve wrote it in 1697.Quotation.
Famous lines wrongly given to Shakespeare
- Hell hath no fury — William Congreve, 1697
- Music hath charms to soothe a savage breast — also Congreve, same play
- Gild the lily — a compression of Shakespeare's actual line
- Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble — Shakespeare wrote 'double, double'
- Lead on, Macduff — Shakespeare wrote 'lay on, Macduff'
Old French *escarn*, mockery or derision, from a Germanic source related to Old High German *skern*, jest.
Who wrote hell hath no fury like a woman scorned?
William Congreve, in The Mourning Bride of 1697, and his actual wording differs from the version people quote.
What is the difference between scorn and contempt?
Contempt is the feeling; scorn usually shows it, and often includes rejecting the person or offer outright.