scandalize
Americanverb (used with object)
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to shock or horrify by something considered immoral or improper.
-
Nautical. to spill the wind from or reduce the exposed area of (a sail) in an unusual manner.
verb
Other Word Forms
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.
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
Here’s a way to scandalize your guests at your holiday party: Serve them boxed wine.
From Washington Post • Dec. 8, 2021
As Thomas Aquinas put it, to scandalize someone is to cause their spiritual downfall.
From Slate • Aug. 26, 2020
“You know I cain’t go, Hoyt. It would scandalize the town.”
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
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.
