scandalous
Americanadjective
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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
Etymology
Origin of scandalous
From the Medieval Latin word scandalōsus, dating back to 1585–95. See scandal, -ous
Explanation
Scandalous describes something that's shocking, and maybe a little embarrassing or even offensive. Your great-grandfather might be a scandalous character in your family history if he was married seven times, each time to younger and younger wives. The adjective scandalous can refer to something morally offensive, or even illegal, although it's used often simply to mean "shocking". It describes something that has potential to cause a scandal, which comes from the Greek skandalon, "a trap laid for an enemy." This idea of a trap or a snare is a great metaphor; you can stumble into scandal as if it's just waiting for you to make a misstep, and if you do the results will be scandalous.
Vocabulary lists containing scandalous
The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 3
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The New SAT: Words to Capture Tone
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I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
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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.
Among them, “the lasting myth” that Clara “did not mourn her husband, and instead was an adulteress who destroyed scandalous love letters to the young man who was daily at her house.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
In person, Earl Spencer is a very affable and charming figure, a writer who has had a first-hand view of some big royal moments and has the stories, sometimes scandalous, to show for it.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
"I think this is something that is, in many ways, quite scandalous."
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
Directed by Cynthia Lawrence, Douglas Moore’s stagework recounts the true story of the scandalous 19th-century romance between Elizabeth “Baby Doe” McCourt and rising Denver political star and mine owner Horace Tabor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026
Leah told supporters that she and her sisters would never follow such scandalous directions, no matter what their spirit friends wished.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
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.
