scandalous
Americanadjective
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disgraceful; shameful or shocking; improper.
scandalous behavior in public.
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defamatory or libelous, as a speech or writing.
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attracted to or preoccupied with scandal, as a person.
a scandalous, vicious gossip.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of scandalous
From the Medieval Latin word scandalōsus, dating back to 1585–95. See scandal, -ous
Explanation
Scandalous describes something that's shocking, and maybe a little embarrassing or even offensive. Your great-grandfather might be a scandalous character in your family history if he was married seven times, each time to younger and younger wives. The adjective scandalous can refer to something morally offensive, or even illegal, although it's used often simply to mean "shocking". It describes something that has potential to cause a scandal, which comes from the Greek skandalon, "a trap laid for an enemy." This idea of a trap or a snare is a great metaphor; you can stumble into scandal as if it's just waiting for you to make a misstep, and if you do the results will be scandalous.
Vocabulary lists containing scandalous
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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.
Directed by Cynthia Lawrence, Douglas Moore’s stagework recounts the true story of the scandalous 19th-century romance between Elizabeth “Baby Doe” McCourt and rising Denver political star and mine owner Horace Tabor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026
"There is no fairness in football anymore, but $1,000 for Scotland v Haiti tickets - that is scandalous," he told the BBC.
From BBC ● May 15, 2026
“Part of the reason I’m bringing that up is to demonstrate that that’s the most scandalous incident I could come up with,” Terlinden said.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 3, 2026
"They're trying to divert attention away from the scandalous state of public affairs," Noemi Kiss, a 28-year-old communications manager, told AFP.
From Barron's ● Mar. 15, 2026
In this tiny room, it was about as far away as if he'd sat right next to her on the bed, but the distinction between chair and bed somehow felt safer, less scandalous.
From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon
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.
