scandalize
Americanverb (used with object)
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scandalizes,
present (3rd person singular)
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scandalized,
past participle, past
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scandalizing
present participle
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to shock or horrify by something considered immoral or improper.
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Nautical. to spill the wind from or reduce the exposed area of (a sail) in an unusual manner.
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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scandalizesimple
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scandalizessimple
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have scandalizedperfect
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has scandalizedperfect
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am scandalizingprogressive
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are scandalizingprogressive
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is scandalizingprogressive
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have been scandalizingperfect progressive
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has been scandalizingperfect progressive
Past
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scandalizedsimple
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had scandalizedperfect
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was scandalizingprogressive
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were scandalizingprogressive
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had been scandalizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of scandalize
1480–90; < Late Latin scandalizāre < Late Greek skandalízein. See scandal, -ize
Vocabulary lists containing scandalize
List 8
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List 9
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Vocabulary from Readings 3, Unit 3
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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:
It is a risky undertaking—one that will probably scandalize the purists—but it is also a profoundly literary one.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026
Public Image Ltd., also known as PiL, did not scandalize polite society in Britain as the Sex Pistols had with their haute-guttersnipe fashion sense, obscenity-laced television tirades and unceasing potshots at the queen.
From New York Times ● Nov. 18, 2022
Their love story is the focus of “Bridgerton’s” first season, as narrated by Lady Whistledown, the anonymous author whose gossip columns scandalize 19th-century British high society.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 9, 2021
So when these powerful figures scandalize us, we lose our faith in our social world, or in our capacity to govern it.
From Slate ● Aug. 26, 2020
I think Jackson got it to scandalize me, since the red velvet cover was decidedly lurid, but it ended up being a very good story.
From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland
An expression should never be banned for just being extremely offensive, regardless of whether it scandalizes a religious or any other type of cherished concept.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 19, 2022
Instead of treating them like the NFL’s beneficent owner-demigods, responsible for the league’s and players’ fortunes, college football instead ignores, scandalizes, and criminalizes any serious valuation of its athletes.
From Slate ● Dec. 1, 2020
Equally noteworthy are Georgia's "My Happy Family," a fine naturalistic examination of a 50-something woman whose desire to live alone scandalizes her patriarchal culture.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 19, 2017
Paris-Match called it "the photo that scandalizes Spain."
From Time Magazine Archive
Ned scandalizes the neighbors every Sunday by continually playing.
From The Irrational Knot Being the Second Novel of His Nonage by Bernard Shaw
Back in 1988, after a D.C. journalist obtained and published a list of movies rented by Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork, a scandalized Congress passed the Video Privacy Protection Act.
From Slate ● Oct. 17, 2026
Vaughters spoke from experience: He’s a former member of Lance Armstrong’s scandalized U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
Noem, whose husband was in the hearing room on Wednesday, acted scandalized by Kamlager-Dove’s inquiry.
From Slate ● Mar. 5, 2026
There were people who just saw it as part of the war effort, and there were people who were really, really scandalized.
From Salon ● Feb. 25, 2026
She saw that John was scandalized at the way she had grown up on the island, running free as the wind in a world filled with sunshine.
From "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Speare
"Just don't talk about it" was a solution to something uncomfortable or something that other people would find scandalizing.
From Salon ● Jun. 26, 2022
A mosque attendant, appalled, caught the diggers in action and rumors began to fly, scandalizing members of the city’s various faiths.
From New York Times ● Oct. 31, 2021
One narrative was that Brooks was scandalizing the idea of “real” country music because he incorporated rock music into tracks like “Papa Loved Mama” and covered Aerosmith.
From Washington Post ● May 11, 2021
The neat, versatile, circular crew neckline—with none of this sad baggage—is simply the less scandalizing option.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2018
The Karnatak Vaibhau recalled the story of the notorious washerman who, by scandalizing Rama, had been immortalized in the Ramayana.
From Indian Unrest by Sir Valentine Chirol
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