scandal

noun scan·dal \ ˈskan-dᵊl \

|Updated on: 7 Aug 2018

Definition of scandal

1 a : discredit brought upon religion by unseemly conduct in a religious person

b : conduct that causes or encourages a lapse of faith or of religious obedience in another

2 : loss of or damage to reputation caused by actual or apparent violation of morality or propriety : disgrace

3 a : a circumstance or action that offends propriety or established moral conceptions or disgraces those associated with it

b : a person whose conduct offends propriety or morality

a scandal to the profession

4 : malicious or defamatory gossip

5 : indignation, chagrin, or bewilderment brought about by a flagrant violation of morality, propriety, or religious opinion

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Examples of scandal in a Sentence

There was a major scandal involving the mayor's ties with the Mob.
Government officials were caught in an embezzlement scandal.
Her behavior caused a scandal at school.
There was never a hint of scandal during her time in office.
The gossip magazine is filled with rumors and scandal.
The high price of gas these days is a scandal.
It's a scandal that this city doesn't have a movie theater.

Recent Examples of scandal from the Web

Ijaz Khattak, a political analyst in Peshawar, said the military has been too distracted by the Sharif family scandal, at the expense of public security for others.

— shaiq hussain and antonio olivo, chicagotribune.com, "Pakistanis urge military to boost security after hundreds die in attacks before election," 14 July 2018
Fake scandals, #fakenews: Each treatment, on its own, is silly, to the point that either would seem unworthy of much attention.

— megan garber, The Atlantic, "Brett Kavanaugh, Jim Jordan, and the Fog of the Partisan," 13 July 2018
Contemptor’s Justin Baragona analyzed her viewership since the scandal, comparing her average audience to the 12 weeks prior to the controversy unfolding.

— brian flood, Fox News, "MSNBC star Joy Reid loses 1 in 5 viewers following homophobic blog scandal," 13 July 2018
Weak governance has historically been tied to corporate blowups such as Volkswagen ’s diesel-emissions cheating scandal, just as weak environmental controls have been a cause of oil spills at companies like BP.

— elizabeth winkler, WSJ, "#MeToo Is Not a Buying Opportunity for Investors," 12 July 2018
With a population of just over 3,000 residents and less than one square mile in size, the little village has produced an outsized share of scandals, most surrounding its cops.

— charles rabin, jay weaver and david ovalle, miamiherald, "The chief wanted perfect stats, so cops were told to pin crimes on blacks, probe found," 12 July 2018
Fox News has devoted itself to painting Trump as a protagonist, which can be hard given the scandals, the incompetence, and the cruelty.

— alvin chang, Vox, "Nearly two years into the Trump presidency, Fox News is still obsessed with Hillary Clinton," 11 July 2018
This followed the Carmen Puliafito scandal, in which the dean of the medical school was fired after videos of his drug abuse surfaced.

— alex bhattacharji, Town & Country, "Can USC Survive Scandal and Shed Its Spoiled-Kid Reputation Once and For All?," 10 July 2018
The film academy last year adopted a code of conduct following the Harvey Weinstein scandal, which gave the organization’s board of governors the power to vote out members.

— jake coyle, The Seattle Times, "Seigner, Polanski’s wife, refuses film academy invitation," 9 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'scandal.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of scandal

Middle English, from Late Latin scandalum stumbling block, offense, from Greek skandalon trap, stumbling block, offense; akin to Latin scandere to climb

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First Known Use: 13th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

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scandal Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of scandal

offense, sin, vice, crime, scandal mean a transgression of law. offense applies to the infraction of any law, rule, or code.

- at that school no offense went unpunished

sin implies an offense against moral or religious law.

- the sin of blasphemy

vice applies to a habit or practice that degrades or corrupts.

- regarded gambling as a vice

crime implies a serious offense punishable by the law of the state.

- the crime of murder

scandal applies to an offense that outrages the public conscience.

- a career ruined by a sex scandal

scandal

verb

Definition of scandal

scandaled; scandaling; scandals

transitive verb

1 obsolete : disgrace

2 chiefly dialectal : defame, slander

Recent Examples of scandal from the Web

Social scientists predicted the Cambridge Analytica scandal way back in 2007.

— felix salmon, WIRED, "The Case for A Zuck-Free Facebook," 3 Apr. 2018

First Known Use of scandal

1592

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

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SCANDAL Defined for English Language Learners

scandal

noun

Definition of scandal for English Language Learners

: an occurrence in which people are shocked and upset because of behavior that is morally or legally wrong
: talk about the shocking or immoral things that people have done or are believed to have done
: something that is shocking, upsetting, or unacceptable