scurrilous
adjective
Edwin Benson
Did you know?
Scurrilous (and its much rarer relation scurrile, which has the same meaning) comes from the Middle French word scurrile, which comes ultimately from the Latin noun scurra, meaning “buffoon” or “jester.” Fittingly, 18th-century lexicographer Samuel Johnson defined scurrilous as “using such language as only the licence of a buffoon could warrant.” Qualities traditionally associated with buffoonery—vulgarity, irreverence, and indecorousness—are qualities often invoked by the word scurrilous. Unlike the words of a jester, however, “scurrilous” language of the present day more often intends to seriously harm or slander someone than to produce a few laughs.
Examples of scurrilous in a Sentence
Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 26 Jan. 2025
Facts won’t deter Republicans on this point, however, for the same reason that Trump and his running mate, J. D. Vance, keep repeating their scurrilous lies about Haitian immigrants eating the pets of Ohio: white anxiety about a diversifying country has become one of the Party’s greatest assets.
—Jonathan Blitzer, The New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2024
And Harriman was certainly subject to gossip, some of it scurrilous and sexist.
—Margaret Talbot, The New Yorker, 16 Sep. 2024
Lee is obsessed with this for a reason that’s scurrilous but also kind of tragic.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 3 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for scurrilous
Cite this Entry
“Scurrilous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scurrilous. Accessed 2 May. 2025.
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scurrilous
adjective
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