scoundrel
Americannoun
-
scoundrels
plural
adjective
noun
Synonym Usage
See knave.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of scoundrel
First recorded in 1580–90; origin uncertain
Explanation
A scoundrel is a person who does deliberately evil things. If your brother hides a fake mouse in your shoe and you therefore almost have a heart attack while getting dressed, you have every right to call him a scoundrel. Though the term scoundrel isn’t used as much as it once was, it’s the perfect way to describe someone who breaks the law, has no morals, or someone like your sneaky sibling who loves to play practical jokes. Most villains in movies and on television can be put in this category. Interestingly, though women are quite capable of equally wicked behavior, this particular term is usually reserved for men.
Vocabulary lists containing scoundrel
Scrooge, Grinch, and Churl: Wonderful Words for Unpleasant People
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"The Treasure of Lemon Brown"
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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
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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.
See Examples For:
“Anthony the Turk” sounds like the sobriquet of a scoundrel in a Mafia movie.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026
He’s a master of both Andersonian acting styles: the freewheeling scamp and the scoundrel who speaks with a sniper’s precision.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 10, 2026
"The 'someone planted the evidence' defense," he wrote, "is the last refuge of a scoundrel."
From Salon ● May 3, 2024
He would be a scoundrel if he were Brad Pitt, but he’s not.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 10, 2023
You scoundrel, he thought, smiling at his rival.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
How, in a legislative body that has always maintained a large contingent of scoundrels, did Swalwell and Gonzales get the boot in such quick succession—with more potentially in the pipeline?
From Slate ● Apr. 16, 2026
Grace and Faith must work together, using their namesake virtues to outsmart the scoundrels and stay alive, and to say it’s far less effective than it was seven years ago is an understatement.
From Salon ● Mar. 29, 2026
Even when scoundrels are convicted, as Milton was, the prominent people who were in their orbit, if only peripherally, keep their reputations and wealth mostly intact.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2025
In each of those elections, scoundrels and cheats — let’s call them what they are — went down to narrow, deserved defeat.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 14, 2023
Unfortunately for cosmic justice, many gifted writers are scoundrels, and many inept ones are the salt of the earth.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
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.
