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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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

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 rapscallions 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
  • Friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, U30 lister Tom Holland, is back on the screen to beat both villains and records.
    — Alexandra York, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
  • The aforementioned Richie Aprile, played wonderfully by David Proval, makes for one of the most menacing villains of the series.
    — Austin Perry OutKick, FOXNews.com, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of villains
Noun
  • Another example is how birds frequently follow monkeys through forests to feed on insects disturbed by their movements.
    — Cyril Grueter, Scientific American, 8 Aug. 2026
  • Turner-Smith also shared videos of monkeys on the island, as well as the sights and hotel amenities.
    — Leigh Blickley, Entertainment Weekly, 5 Aug. 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 2025, two Tasmanian devils arrived at the Australian Outback exhibit.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 29 July 2026
  • Tasmanian devils suffer from Devil Facial Tumor Disease (DFTD), a highly fatal cancer spread by biting, which has devastated their population and surprisingly arose twice.
    — John Drake, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026
Definition of devils
Noun
  • North Carolina politician says Democrats are coddling criminals Records also list a September 2025 simple-assault charge and a March 2025 charge of assault on a female.
    — Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 8 Aug. 2026
  • Even if Anna Pigeon carries a gun with cuffs, as real-life law enforcement rangers do, there's much more to the job and character than chasing down criminals.
    — Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 7 Aug. 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
  • This high-security prison is a sprawling complex that houses thousands of detainees, including notorious gangsters, terrorists and prominent white-collar offenders.
    — Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 9 Aug. 2026
  • Based upon their replies, occupying Allied officials ranked their culpability, then tried the worst offenders — most famously in the Nuremberg trials, but also in numerous local tribunals.
    — Fern Schumer Chapman, Chicago Tribune, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of offenders
Noun
  • And potentially discover treasure that will keep the savages at home from tearing the place down.
    — Barry Collins, Forbes.com, 28 July 2026
  • Or a group of shipwrecked boys turning into savages and killing one another?
    — Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2026
Definition of savages

Browse Nearby Words

rapscallion
rapscallions
rapt
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Rapscallions.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rapscallions. Accessed 14 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of vacuous

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Words of the Week - Aug. 14

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All