rascal
Americannoun
-
rascals
plural
-
a base, dishonest, or unscrupulous person.
- Synonyms:
- scapegrace, miscreant, villain, scamp, rapscallion
-
a mischievous person or animal.
That child is a real rascal.
noun
-
a disreputable person; villain
-
a mischievous or impish rogue
-
an affectionate or mildly reproving term for a child or old man
you little rascal
the wicked old rascal kissed her
-
obsolete a person of lowly birth
adjective
Synonym Usage
See knave.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of rascal
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English rascaile, raskaille, from Old French rascaille “rabble”; perhaps akin to rash 2
Explanation
A rascal is a scoundrel or a trickster. If your new puppy cheerfully chews on your shoes and chases the cat, you might want to consider naming her Rascal. Rascals are mischievous, but their intentions are to have fun, rather than to be cruel. An armed robber is not a rascal, but the class clown is a rascal. The word's origins had a more negative connotation, though: the fourteenth century rascaile meant "low class people," from the Old French rascaille, "rabble or mob."
Vocabulary lists containing rascal
Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 3
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Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
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"Abuela Invents the Zero" and "Karate"
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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.
See Examples For:
While Shoyo is a charismatic and ambitious rascal, Karasuno High and their various opponents provide a wide and varied array of winning characters who are willing to play the long game to win your heart.
From Salon ● Dec. 26, 2025
Stellan Skarsgård inhabits this rascal perfectly: bluff, hearty, a bit arrogant and slightly pathetic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2025
That spirit came through in the show’s rascal of a main character and spilled into living rooms all over the country.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 8, 2024
Onstage, Epps convincingly plays that rascal who has charmed his way out of trouble.
From New York Times ● Feb. 20, 2024
His thoughts went back to the Field of Cormallen, and here was a squint-eyed rascal calling the Ring-bearer ‘little cock-a-whoop’.
From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien
The most notable stock-market research over the weekend comes from academia, where researchers studied those rascals in Congress and their proclivity to trade.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 1, 2025
Dare we say, some rascals even made fun of her over it.
From Slate ● May 1, 2025
Naturally, some enterprising little rascals began charging unrelated randos a fee to accompany them to the event.
From Salon ● Apr. 9, 2023
We too had many pretty toys when young: A law indifferent to blame or praise, … O what fine thought we had because we thought That the worst rogues and rascals had died out.
From New York Times ● Jul. 19, 2022
"It doesn't please me to take orders from common rascals," Prince Brat said coldly.
From "The Whipping Boy" by Sid Fleischman
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.
