scandal

noun scan·dal \ ˈskan-dᵊl \

|Updated on: 12 Jun 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

See scandal defined for English-language learners

See scandal defined for kids

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

But an ethics scandal involving lavish gifts from a wealthy businessman ended McDonnell’s future political career.

— Washington Post, "Little-known Virginia Republicans vying for US Senate shot," 9 June 2018
The admission reveals that the massive Cambridge Analytica data scandal, in which the data of over 87 million Facebook users was mined through a third-party social media app, was not an outlier.

— shannon liao, The Verge, "Why Facebook’s secret data-sharing deal with Huawei has the US concerned," 8 June 2018
Bob Menendez, the scandal-ridden incumbent senator, saw off a primary challenge by a thin margin.

— The Economist, "Democrats avoid disaster in California’s crazy primaries," 7 June 2018
The payments, which were disclosed last month, came amid a widening probe into Michael Cohen, Trump’s attorney, and have mushroomed into an enormously embarrassing scandal for the drug maker.

— ed silverman, STAT, "Swiss attorney general will not pursue bribery charges against Novartis for payments to Trump lawyer," 6 June 2018
In the 20 years since the Ken Starr investigation that turned her into a household name, Lewinsky appears to have done a lot of thinking and analysis about her role in the scandal, as evidenced by her February essay for Vanity Fair.

— abby gardner, Glamour, "This One Quote From Bill Clinton's Latest Interview Says a Lot About His Feelings on #MeToo and Monica Lewinsky," 4 June 2018
Clinton will be introduced at the June 6 event by Representative Joseph Kennedy III, who has so far had the most success carrying the family name forward in a scandal-free manner.

— annie linskey, BostonGlobe.com, "Arc of Bill Clinton’s political career will be on display during his RFK commemoration," 1 June 2018
Olympus is a symbolic company for corporate governance in Japan because of an accounting scandal in 2011 that shook shareholders’ confidence and led to rules promoting stronger oversight by outside directors and shareholders.

— kosaku narioka, WSJ, "U.S. Activist Investor Takes Stake in Olympus," 31 May 2018
After Frankenstein was published anonymously in 1818, the scandal-riddled couple married and moved to Italy.

— refinery29.com, "The True Story Behind Mary Shelley Is Actual 19th Century Rock & Roll," 24 May 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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

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

NEW! Time Traveler

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