scandalous

[skan-dl-uhs]

adjective

1. disgraceful; shameful or shocking; improper.

   scandalous behavior in public.

2. defamatory or libelous, as a speech or writing.

3. attracted to or preoccupied with scandal, as a person.

   a scandalous, vicious gossip.

Other Word Forms

• scandalously adverb
• scandalousness noun
• nonscandalous adjective
• nonscandalously adverb
• superscandalous adjective
• superscandalously adverb
• unscandalous adjective
• unscandalously adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of scandalous¹

From the Medieval Latin word scandalōsus, dating back to 1585–95. See scandal, -ous

Example Sentences

Even the scandalous news that her supposedly grieving mother-in-law seemed to be on the brink of remarriage did not force a peep from the precariously balanced Lady Constance.

Read more on Literature

She still has problems, some old, some new, some scandalous, at least for the 1950s in which the film is set.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The filling is jammy and rich, jarred fig jam brightened with chopped dates and an almost scandalous amount of orange zest, so every mouthful tastes like autumn sunlight and just a hint of mischief.

Read more on Salon

According to the synopsis, these “fierce, brilliant, and emotionally complicated” women will “navigate high-stakes breakups, scandalous secrets, and shifting allegiances.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

"To have jumped through all of those hoops and then have a tribunal award that never gets paid is frankly scandalous," said policy manager Emer Sheehy.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• defamatory 
• disgraceful 
• heinous 
• outrageous 
• scurrilous 
• shameful 
• shocking 
• slanderous 
• unseemly 
• untrue