scandalous
Americanadjective
-
disgraceful; shameful or shocking; improper.
scandalous behavior in public.
-
defamatory or libelous, as a speech or writing.
-
attracted to or preoccupied with scandal, as a person.
a scandalous, vicious gossip.
Other Word Forms
- nonscandalous adjective
- nonscandalously adverb
- scandalously adverb
- scandalousness noun
- superscandalous adjective
- superscandalously adverb
- unscandalous adjective
- unscandalously adverb
Etymology
Origin of scandalous
From the Medieval Latin word scandalōsus, dating back to 1585–95. See scandal, -ous
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.
Based on the 2020 novel “Box Hill,” “Pillion” is often scandalous, but it also offers classic rom-com warm and fuzzy feelings.
The reporters had also established that the so-called “after-action” report on the fire had been altered to downplay failures by the department and the city, all of which was scandalous enough.
From Los Angeles Times
"I am totally on my own now. This is beyond scandalous and nobody can do anything. I cannot believe what this is all coming to."
From BBC
Halfway through “Melania’s” 104-minute running time, it occurred to me that it would feel scandalous if Ratner so much as taped her doing something as human and unguarded as eating a bite of food.
From Los Angeles Times
They say the word “American” as if it’s scandalous.
From Literature
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.
