miscreant

1 of 2

adjective

mis·​cre·​ant ˈmis-krē-ənt 

1

: unbelieving, heretical

miscreant pagans

2

: depraved, villainous

miscreant behavior

miscreant gangs

miscreant

2 of 2

noun

1

: infidel, heretic

2

: one who behaves criminally or viciously

Synonyms

Noun

• baddie
• baddy
• beast
• brute
• caitiff
• devil
• evildoer
• fiend
• heavy
• hound
• knave
• meanie
• meany
• monster
• nazi
• no-good
• rapscallion
• rascal
• reprobate
• rogue
• savage
• scalawag
• scallywag
• scamp
• scapegrace
• scoundrel
• varlet
• villain
• wretch

Examples of miscreant in a Sentence

Noun

He supports tough penalties against corporate miscreants.

halt, vile miscreant, and face justice!

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Voters need to hold the mayor and council accountable for their miscreant spending, not give them more of our limited funds. —U T Readers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 May 2025

The operation aims to crack down on miscreant behavior over the next few weeks with more than 200 extra police officers deployed to the area, including state troopers. —Michael Dorgan, Fox News, 29 Oct. 2024

Noun

More troubling was being lumped in with Trump’s growing list of deadbeats, criminals and other miscreants. —Ian Cooper, Sun Sentinel, 5 May 2025

After that series, in which her character Brienne of Tarth took on some of Westeros’ most fearsome miscreants, Christie turned down violent roles to avoid being typecast. —Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 21 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Adjective and Noun

Middle English miscreaunt, from Anglo-French mescreant, present participle of mescreire to disbelieve, from mes- + creire to believe, from Latin credere — more at creed

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

miscreant

noun

mis·​cre·​ant

ˈmis-krē-ənt

: villain sense 2, scoundrel

miscreant adjective