scoundrel
Americannoun
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:
The question Mr. Junod explores is whether his father was a scoundrel or merely a rascal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 5, 2026
"The 'someone planted the evidence' defense," he wrote, "is the last refuge of a scoundrel."
From Salon ● May 3, 2024
Brash and whip smart, she is the novel’s heartbeat, the shoot-from-the-hip scoundrel you love to root for.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 20, 2023
He would be a scoundrel if he were Brad Pitt, but he’s not.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 10, 2023
“Such long faces! Cheer up, friends. Many a scoundrel has made their fortune out west. Of course, that is all assuming you survive.”
From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland
The show, a touring tutorial he created and performs solo, allows Page the opportunity to animate with barnstorming crackle a rogue’s gallery of Shakespearean scoundrels.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 17, 2026
In other moments, far rarer ones, “Christy” is briefly moving, a tale of how easily naive self-determination can be manipulated by misogynist scoundrels lurking in the corner of a shadowy boxing gym.
From Salon ● Nov. 8, 2025
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
Bending disclosure rules is, to his mind, perpetually justified by the desire to shield his good name from any scoundrels who would dare speak ill of him.
From Slate ● May 8, 2023
Didn’t scoundrels usually have ill-gotten gains lying around somewhere?
From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson
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.
