miscreant
Americanadjective
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depraved, villainous, or base.
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Archaic. holding a false or unorthodox religious belief; heretical.
noun
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a vicious or depraved person; villain.
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Archaic. a heretic or infidel.
noun
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a wrongdoer or villain
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archaic an unbeliever or heretic
adjective
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evil or villainous
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archaic unbelieving or heretical
Etymology
Origin of miscreant
1350–1400; Middle English < Middle French mescreant unbelieving, equivalent to mes- mis- 1 + creant ≪ Latin crēdent- credent
Explanation
A miscreant is a person who behaves badly — who lies, breaks the law, yells at puppies. It's a somewhat old-fashioned word, popular with old ladies shocked at having their purses stolen at the opera. Words like miscreant, scoundrel, and good-for-nothing are used to condemn people believed to be improper or even evil. If your mom warns you that your friends are a bunch of miscreants, she's concerned that you're hanging out with the wrong kind of crowd and that you might be headed for trouble.
Vocabulary lists containing miscreant
Believe It or Not: Cred
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Antigone
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Scrooge, Grinch, and Churl: Wonderful Words for Unpleasant People
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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.
He’s Manny the Masher, Manny the Miscreant and Macho Manny all in one, whacking baseballs, opponents and questions.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 22, 2018
Miscreant yeomen who poached a swan egg, or harassed nesting swans, or — heaven forbid — ate a swan could be punished by a year and a day in jail.
From Washington Post • Jul. 19, 2018
Even so, thoughtful direction from Jack Young draws the best from the actors in this Miscreant Theater production.
From New York Times • Jan. 23, 2012
The Miscreant Wellington is the Cub of Fortune, but she will never lick him into shape.
From The Works of Lord Byron: Letters and Journals. Vol. 2 by Prothero, Rowland E. (Rowland Edmund), Baron Ernle
Miscreant, v, 13; ix, 49, infidel, vile fellow.
From Spenser's The Faerie Queene, Book I by Spenser, Edmund
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.
