Synonyms of scalawag

scalawag

noun

ˈska-li-ˌwag 

variants or scallywag

as in villain

a mean, evil, or unprincipled person

a scalawag who had taken to begging on street corners while posing as a blind person

Synonyms & Similar Words

• villain
• brute
• monster
• savage
• scoundrel
• devil
• criminal
• offender
• wretch
• rascal
• knave
• reprobate
• bandit
• rogue
• scapegrace
• scamp
• beast
• miscreant
• caitiff
• thug
• varlet
• crook
• assassin
• no-good
• gangster
• evildoer
• rapscallion
• nazi
• loser
• hound
• fiend
• heavy
• meanie
• baddie
• blackguard
• perpetrator
• snake
• felon
• trespasser
• culprit
• sinner
• lawbreaker
• outlaw
• desperado
• villainess
• con
• wrongdoer
• viper
• ruffian
• heel
• transgressor
• malefactor
• cad
• racketeer
• perp
• rough
• hoodlum
• convict
• serpent
• cutthroat
• jailbird
• tough
• hooligan
• lowlife
• goon
• rowdy
• stinker
• bravo
• gunman
• trash
• ne'er-do-well

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• innocent
• hero
• angel
• saint

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of scalawag

The large cast, costumed and made up as a fitly scalawags and sinister buccaneers, gives tremendous energy to every scene. — Kirk Honeycutt, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 July 2023

Chadha-Patel is ambiguously charming as a scalawag not entirely out for himself. — cleveland, 1 Dec. 2022

Ticketed experiences include a cannon battle aboard a tall ship, tours of the tall ships in port, a mermaid meet-and-greet and swim show, pirate school for scallywags and more. — Marla Jo Fisher, Oc Register, 8 Sep. 2025

And yet, after a series of further downward spirals that will dig this scalawag even deeper into a hole and some supernatural mumbo-jumbo, his luck curiously starts to change…. — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 14 Oct. 2025

Among the most memorable was the Oyster Wars, a series of clashes dating back to the 1830s with scalawags descending from all over, looking to cash in on the valuable bivalves. — Baltimore Sun Editorial Board, Baltimore Sun, 2 July 2024

But what the New Yorker writer left behind is some of the finest prose of the 20th century, focusing primarily on the eccentrics, scalawags, seamen, and other denizens of New York’s dank corners. — Air Mail, 2 May 2026