1
as in villains
a mean, evil, or unprincipled person
halt, vile miscreant, and face justice!
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in criminals
a person who has committed a crime
a youthful offender surrounded in prison by hard-bitten miscreants who had committed just about every crime imaginable
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of miscreants
Elswyth can shoot ivy vines from her hands, wrapping the vines around miscreants to incapacitate them.
—
Chris Hewitt, Boston Herald, 15 May 2026
The cameras safeguard lawful policing and expose miscreants masquerading as officers.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 1 May 2026
If anything, Congress has not been tough enough with miscreants over the years.
—Orlando Sentinel, The Orlando Sentinel, 24 Apr. 2026
The first of these—a cult favorite among writers, particularly youngish women writers—put Lemann on the map as a singular stylist, capable of crystalline insights into the miscreants and oddballs of the American South and great bursts of unrestrained sentiment.
—Brandy Jensen, New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2026
Yup, those $70,000-a-year-plus-benefits folks the city of San Diego has hired to creep around in the early-morning hours before the garbage trucks come and look for miscreants who have put plastic bags in the blue recycling bins or greenery in the black-now-gray trash bins.
—Inga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Mar. 2026
Little wonder that fascists and other miscreants feel welcome.
—Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, 23 Feb. 2026
Regardless of the bias in whatever racial or political agenda may be behind this nightmarish remake of Eugene O’Neil’s dark drama of societal miscreants, The Iceman Cometh, the ICE men are making sure their own approval rating melts, while doing damage to both commerce and community safety.
—Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 21 Jan. 2026
And, of course, Steven Knight’s Peaky Blinders, whose Shelby family of murderers and miscreants amassed such a cult following over six seasons that the series is getting its own movie in March.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 9 Jan. 2026
Chris Hewitt, Boston Herald, 15 May 2026
The cameras safeguard lawful policing and expose miscreants masquerading as officers.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 1 May 2026
If anything, Congress has not been tough enough with miscreants over the years.
—Orlando Sentinel, The Orlando Sentinel, 24 Apr. 2026
The first of these—a cult favorite among writers, particularly youngish women writers—put Lemann on the map as a singular stylist, capable of crystalline insights into the miscreants and oddballs of the American South and great bursts of unrestrained sentiment.
—Brandy Jensen, New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2026
Yup, those $70,000-a-year-plus-benefits folks the city of San Diego has hired to creep around in the early-morning hours before the garbage trucks come and look for miscreants who have put plastic bags in the blue recycling bins or greenery in the black-now-gray trash bins.
—Inga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Mar. 2026
Little wonder that fascists and other miscreants feel welcome.
—Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, 23 Feb. 2026
Regardless of the bias in whatever racial or political agenda may be behind this nightmarish remake of Eugene O’Neil’s dark drama of societal miscreants, The Iceman Cometh, the ICE men are making sure their own approval rating melts, while doing damage to both commerce and community safety.
—Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 21 Jan. 2026
And, of course, Steven Knight’s Peaky Blinders, whose Shelby family of murderers and miscreants amassed such a cult following over six seasons that the series is getting its own movie in March.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 9 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for miscreants
Noun
-
The complexity of individuals – the truth that heroes could commit bad acts and that villains could at times be redeemed – was seared into Foxman from childhood.—
Ron Kampeas,
Sun Sentinel,
11 May 2026
-
The Dodgers’ production team created a video this spring in which the two-time reigning World Series champions embrace the role of villains.—
Fabian Ardaya,
New York Times,
8 May 2026
Noun
-
When unhoused people are treated as criminals, they are pushed into an identity of exclusion rather than belonging.—
Shianne LeClaire,
Hartford Courant,
17 May 2026
-
That’s the job of law enforcement, who make arrests, judges who sentence criminals to pay for their crimes, and a parole board that cares about public safety.—
Boston Herald editorial staff,
Boston Herald,
15 May 2026
Noun
-
That’s happened in several Mid Atlantic rivers, but in the absence of larger brutes like blues and flathead, channels will thrive and can break the 15-pound mark.—
Joe Cermele,
Outdoor Life,
9 Apr. 2026
-
In Raspail’s tale, hordes of impoverished and dark-skinned brutes from India descend onto French shores by way of rafts, the first wave of an invasion of the civilized West by the brown-skinned developing world.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
My office will continue to work alongside law enforcement partners like the Antioch Police Department to hold armed offenders accountable and pursue justice on behalf of all those harmed.—
Carlos E. Castañeda,
CBS News,
8 May 2026
-
The most effective way to deter criminal behavior is increasing the perception that would-be offenders will certainly get caught and sanctioned.—
Sarah Anderson,
Oc Register,
7 May 2026
Noun
-
This notion was based on outdated presumptions of hillforts as being occupied by violent, prehistoric savages.—
News Desk,
Artforum,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Or Irish, in a time when they were seen as savages by the Englishmen?—
Arushi Jacob,
Variety,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The story follows a group of people trapped in a mysterious town where monsters haunt the streets and night and diabolical forces seem determined to terrorize and confound our heroes.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
9 May 2026
-
Policy favored the monsters who plot in the background, more Kissinger than Kennedy.—
Eli Durst,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
Noun
-
Ash devils can hurl hot embers in all directions and spark new fires, but this one harmlessly dissipated without spreading the blaze further.—
Blanca Begert,
Los Angeles Times,
3 May 2026
-
Other propaganda compared Native people to buffalo, cats, dogs, and devils.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Miscreants.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/miscreants. Accessed 19 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
