rascal
Americannoun
-
a base, dishonest, or unscrupulous person.
- Synonyms:
- scapegrace, miscreant, villain, scamp, rapscallion
-
a mischievous person or animal.
That child is a real rascal.
noun
-
a disreputable person; villain
-
a mischievous or impish rogue
-
an affectionate or mildly reproving term for a child or old man
you little rascal
the wicked old rascal kissed her
-
obsolete a person of lowly birth
adjective
Synonym Usage
See knave.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of rascal
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English rascaile, raskaille, from Old French rascaille “rabble”; perhaps akin to rash 2
Explanation
A rascal is a scoundrel or a trickster. If your new puppy cheerfully chews on your shoes and chases the cat, you might want to consider naming her Rascal. Rascals are mischievous, but their intentions are to have fun, rather than to be cruel. An armed robber is not a rascal, but the class clown is a rascal. The word's origins had a more negative connotation, though: the fourteenth century rascaile meant "low class people," from the Old French rascaille, "rabble or mob."
Vocabulary lists containing rascal
Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 3
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Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
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"Abuela Invents the Zero" and "Karate"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“A brilliant songwriter and amazing man. He was the pen behind ‘Summer Nights,’ ‘Love You Out Loud’ and countless songs we’ve all sang along too,” Rascal Flatts said Friday in an Instagram tribute.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 19, 2025
A free beachfront concert in Kent by chart-topping rapper Dizzee Rascal has been axed just hours before it was set to begin.
From BBC • May 9, 2025
During pop singer Remi Wolf's set, for instance, she ran around the stage waving the Progress Pride Flag while singing a cover of the Rascal Flatts hit "Life is a Highway."
From Salon • Oct. 16, 2024
Grime - which draws influences from garage, drum and bass and dancehall - eventually went mainstream a few years later thanks to artists like Dizzee Rascal, Kano, Lethal Bizzle, and Wiley.
From BBC • Nov. 12, 2023
Why Fry passed me the other day while I was having a discussion with Rascal the horse and before I could even think of peeling away to Oregon, he pointed at me and said, “Dude.”
From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
