scandal

American  

[skan-dl] / ˈskæn dl /

noun

scandals plural

1. a disgraceful or discreditable action, circumstance, etc.

2. an offense caused by a fault or misdeed.

3. damage to reputation; public disgrace.

   Synonyms:

   ignominy, opprobrium, disrepute, shame, dishonor, discredit

4. defamatory talk; malicious gossip.

   Synonyms:

   obloquy, aspersion, calumny, slander

   Antonyms:

   praise, honor

5. a person whose conduct brings disgrace or offense.

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verb (used with object)

scandaled, scandaling, scandalled, scandalling

1. British Dialect. to defame (someone) by spreading scandal.

2. Obsolete. to disgrace.

scandal British  

/ ˈskændəl /

noun

1. a disgraceful action or event

   his negligence was a scandal

2. censure or outrage arising from an action or event

3. a person whose conduct causes reproach or disgrace

4. malicious talk, esp gossip about the private lives of other people

5. law a libellous action or statement

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verb

1. to disgrace

2. to scandalize

Synonym Usage

See gossip.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• miniscandal
  noun
• scandalousness
  noun
• superscandal
  noun
• scandalous
  adjective
• scandalously
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• scandals
  plural

Etymology

Origin of scandal

1175–1225; from Late Latin scandalum from Late Greek skándalon “snare, cause of moral stumbling”; replacing Middle English scandle from Old French (north) escandle from Late Latin, as above

Explanation

Scandal is disgraceful events or nasty gossip about people's private lives, like the scandal that erupted when you were seen at the mall with your best friend's girlfriend. Just because there's a scandal, it doesn't mean it's always true — being seen with your friend's girl? What the gossips didn't know it that you were buying his birthday present. Some scandals, though, involve public figures who have been found guilty. For example, if a politician is found guilty of taking bribes, that's a scandal that will rock your town, causing outrage not to mention the end of that politician's career.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

scandal scandals

Despite his involvement in the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal in 2017, ex-Dodgers infielder Alex Cora remains a respected manager who should rebound from the Red Sox firing him.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

The story journalists told about Mark Lamb’s victory Tuesday night was one of victory over scandal.

From Slate ● Jul. 23, 2026

That came on top of another scandal related to the online marking system of tests taken by nearly two million high school students.

From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026

For many of the hundreds of families involved in the largest maternity scandal in NHS history, the suffering did not end with the loss of a baby or loved one.

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026

When Hoover met with White, his grip on power remained tenuous, and he was suddenly confronting the one thing that he’d done everything to avoid since becoming director: a scandal.

From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann

“Go Gentle, “Almost Life,” “New Skin” and “The Summer Boy” are just a few of our summer book picks filled with secrets, scandals and seaside romance.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026

Jackson, who campaigned heavily with Platner before the scandals, had the support of roughly 75 percent of the volunteers who rallied behind the now-disgraced former Senate candidate.

From Slate ● Jul. 24, 2026

As fatigue -- and anger at army scandals -- grew, that approach grated.

From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026

Given our own tinderbox of a world—in the face of the Somme, in the face of millions killed—the highest morality has nothing to do with domestic scandals and everything to do with preventing great-power war.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

Ellet was that rare thing in the nineteenth century, not only a female author but one who had written about both women and scandals before.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

Related Words

• crime
• rumor
• wrongdoing