scandalous

[skan-dl-uhs]

adjective

1. disgraceful; shameful or shocking; improper.

   scandalous behavior in public.

2. defamatory or libelous, as a speech or writing.

3. attracted to or preoccupied with scandal, as a person.

   a scandalous, vicious gossip.

Other Word Forms

• scandalously adverb
• scandalousness noun
• nonscandalous adjective
• nonscandalously adverb
• superscandalous adjective
• superscandalously adverb
• unscandalous adjective
• unscandalously adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of scandalous¹

From the Medieval Latin word scandalōsus, dating back to 1585–95. See scandal, -ous

Related Words

• defamatory 
• disgraceful 
• heinous 
• outrageous 
• scurrilous 
• shameful 
• shocking 
• slanderous 
• unseemly 
• untrue