scandalous
Americanadjective
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disgraceful; shameful or shocking; improper.
scandalous behavior in public.
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defamatory or libelous, as a speech or writing.
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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.
"There is no fairness in football anymore, but $1,000 for Scotland v Haiti tickets - that is scandalous," he told the BBC.
From BBC • May 15, 2026
"They're trying to divert attention away from the scandalous state of public affairs," Noemi Kiss, a 28-year-old communications manager, told AFP.
From Barron's • Mar. 15, 2026
He launched a similar inquiry into Kellogg’s, suggesting it had deceptively marketed its cereals, as if it were some scandalous secret that Froot Loops contain food coloring.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026
The ceremony was edited and aired on a delay, and this year the BBC announced early that it was on especially high alert for any comments that were perceived as scandalous.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 22, 2026
Louis Lépine and Alphonse Bertillon had missed the lesson of the very first detective story: In Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Purloined Letter,” the suspect hides a scandalous letter in plain sight.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
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.
