unscrupulous
Americanadjective
adjective
Related Words
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
- unscrupulosity noun
- unscrupulously adverb
- unscrupulousness noun
Etymology
Origin of unscrupulous
First recorded in 1795–1805; un- 1 + scrupulous
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.
His distrust is based on previous encounters with unscrupulous visitors.
From Los Angeles Times
Gould was ultimately a financial success, but not without years of unscrupulous behavior.
Yet pubs were not lined up as targets in the Budget, like millionaires in rich homes or unscrupulous gambling firms.
From BBC
More than 60 people contacted the BBC after we revealed unscrupulous foreign firms were using fake images and back stories to pose as family-run UK businesses to lure in shoppers.
From BBC
Legal reforms stopped unscrupulous contractors and plaintiff attorneys from jacking up claim costs.
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.
