unscrupulous
Americanadjective
adjective
Synonym Usage
Unscrupulous, unprincipled refer to lack of moral standards or conscience to guide one's conduct. An unscrupulous person is without scruples of conscience, and disregards, or has contempt for, laws of right or justice with which they are perfectly well acquainted, and which should restrain their actions: Methods of making money that are unscrupulous often involve taking advantage of the unfortunate. An unprincipled person is without moral principles or ethical standards in their conduct or actions: He's an unprincipled rogue; Her unprincipled conduct got her dismissed from the job.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of unscrupulous
First recorded in 1795–1805; un- 1 + scrupulous
Explanation
Use the adjective unscrupulous to describe someone who behaves in a dishonest or unethical way. Unscrupulous behavior is the unfortunate resort of many ambitious people — it’s the immoral stuff they do to make success more attainable. When you sell someone bad loans, when you hack into your competition's accounts, when you read your roommate's mail for signs of an opportunity with his girlfriend, you're being unscrupulous.
Vocabulary lists containing unscrupulous
The Catcher in the Rye
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Power Prefix: un-
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Grade 10, List 6
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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.
Unscrupulous actors sometimes exploit the lack of legal regulations to do grotesque things.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 5, 2026
Unscrupulous vendors “may do whatever they want with that information, including selling it to anyone else,” said Covey.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 17, 2024
Unscrupulous private landlords may lease public plots from Caltrans, then illegally sublet pieces of them at inflated rents to immigrant businesses whose owners are uninsured.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 19, 2023
Unscrupulous breeding is also on the rise, with growing instances of puppy smuggling; dogs brought over from Europe illegally for pet trade.
From BBC • Jul. 22, 2023
Unscrupulous men and women seeing their opportunity, sophisticated and exploited it, and “exposures” of these became common.
From The New Avatar and The Destiny of the Soul The Findings of Natural Science Reduced to Practical Studies in Psychology by Buck, J. D. (Jirah Dewey)
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.
