scandalize
Americanverb (used with object)
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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
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
Every minute is charged with tension, and one senses that scenes were shaped with the intent to scandalize rather than enlighten.
From New York Times • Jun. 19, 2023
The question is no longer whether the latest revelation will scandalize Jim Bob sitting in a truck stop, but whether or not it's legally substantive evidence to be included in articles of impeachment.
From Salon • Oct. 18, 2019
Does Picasso scandalize the art world by painting a nude Niffler?
From Slate • Nov. 15, 2018
“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.
