rapscallions

noun

plural of rapscallion
1
as in villains
a mean, evil, or unprincipled person the city's run-down waterfront was occupied mostly by disreputable places frequented by drunkards and rapscallions

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in monkeys
an appealingly mischievous person that little rapscallion kept hiding my shoes and making me go look for them

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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 rapscallions Those rapscallions that promise good fortunes but never produce. — Bill Reinhard, New York Daily News, 16 Aug. 2026 Imagine how Lowell’s most fun, most ferocious rock ‘n’ roll rapscallions will do Sabbath during their tribute set May 2 at the Smokehouse Tavern. — Jed Gottlieb, Boston Herald, 26 Apr. 2026 Twin brothers, these rapscallions can be told apart by Boris’s kinked tail and the colors of their collars. — Literary Hub, 10 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rapscallions
  1. villains
  2. monkeys
  3. brutes
  4. devils
  5. criminals
  6. rascals
  7. offenders
  8. savages
Noun
  • Much psychological research has focussed on the degradation of villains, but a symmetrical force works to elevate victims.
    — Paul Bloom, New Yorker, 6 Nov. 2026
  • Catwoman For a sexy twist on your classic cat makeup, channel one of the comic book world's most beloved villains.
    — Michella Oré, Glamour, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of villains
Noun
  • In 2009, Mitalipov’s lab had reported the births of the world’s first monkeys following maternal spindle transfer.
    — Megan Molteni, STAT, 3 Nov. 2026
  • The monkeys are adorable from a distance and mischievous up close.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of monkeys
Noun
  • These brutes commonly exceed 50 pounds.
    — Keith Sutton, Outdoor Life, 18 June 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
Definition of brutes
Noun
  • In 1974 the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons first appeared, and later editions featured such character types as devils and demons.
    — Jordana Rosenfeld, Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 Oct. 2026
  • Researchers have also documented the phenomenon in dogs, Tasmanian devils, and some kinds of clams and other shellfish.
    — Adam Cohen, Oklahoman, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of devils
Noun
  • According to investigators cited by NBC News, the criminals have shown planning and sophistication by employing techniques like GPS location spoofing and even arranging collisions with police escort vehicles.
    — Nick Indge, ArsTechnica, 6 Nov. 2026
  • Without changing state law, criminals can continue to be sentenced to death in California.
    — Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of criminals
Noun
  • Of all the former rascals, Symoné has enjoyed the longest and most successful career in entertainment.
    — Andrew Walsh, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Jan. 2026
  • In the years since 2004’s Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, Penn’s carved out a niche embodying big-talking, attention-grabbing rascals who say inappropriate things, then shrug their way through the consequences.
    — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 12 Jan. 2026
Definition of rascals
Noun
  • The worst offenders on the public records law are the State Police.
    — Joe Battenfeld, Boston Herald, 7 Nov. 2026
  • Schneider says royal ferns are known for doing this in the garden, while Jose Lopez, owner and founder of Williams Landscaping Chicago, says ostrich ferns and lady ferns are other common offenders.
    — The Spruce, The Spruce, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of offenders
Noun
  • Among the English-speaking settlers, the events at Lake George would be remembered as a massacre, and the Indigenous people whose home this was, whose conventions of war did not match those of the European empires, were called savages.
    — James Whorton Jr, Longreads, 13 Oct. 2026
  • And potentially discover treasure that will keep the savages at home from tearing the place down.
    — Barry Collins, Forbes.com, 28 July 2026
Definition of savages

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Cite this Entry

“Rapscallions.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rapscallions. Accessed 11 Nov. 2026.

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