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scapegrace

American  
[skeyp-greys] / ˈskeɪpˌgreɪs /

noun

  1. a complete rogue or rascal; a habitually unscrupulous person; scamp.

scapegrace British  
/ ˈskeɪpˌɡreɪs /

noun

  1. an idle mischievous person

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of scapegrace

First recorded in 1800–10; scape 2 + grace

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.

Young Andrew, by contrast, looked a bit of a scapegrace, tie askew.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 2, 2025

Adam Gopnik, in this magazine, argued that the Starr report could be read “as a novel in the classic tradition,” with Bill Clinton as the scapegrace hero.

From The New Yorker • Apr. 1, 2019

I knew that what I did as a 16-year-old in Virginia would forever be a hellhound on my trail, but I hoped that I had outpaced my scapegrace.

From New York Times • Oct. 16, 2018

While King Henry's England is threatened by rebellion, the king's scapegrace son Hal haunts the taverns of London, his companions a crew of rogues and...

From Slate • Nov. 7, 2016

“Not a bit, and you never will. You’ve grown bigger and bonnier, but you are the same scapegrace as ever.”

From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott

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.