Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

Thesaurus

rascal

noun

Synonyms and Antonyms of rascal

1 a mean, evil, or unprincipled person
  • Some cold-blooded rascal had set the barn afire.
Synonyms of rascal

baddie (or baddy), beast, brute, devil, evildoer, fiend, heavy, hound, knave, meanie (also meany), miscreant, monster, nazi, no-good, rapscallion, reprobate, rogue, savage, scalawag (or scallywag), scamp, scoundrel, varlet, villain, wretch
Words Related to rascal

villainess

blackguard

criminal, crook, culprit, felon, lawbreaker, malefactor, offender, perp, perpetrator, transgressor

sinner, trespasser, wrongdoer

cad, heel, serpent, snake, viper

bandit, bravo, desperado, outlaw

con, convict, jailbird

assassin, cutthroat, gangster, goon, gunman, hoodlum, hooligan, racketeer, ruffian, thug

rough, rowdy, tough

loser, lowlife, ne'er-do-well, stinker, trash
Near Antonyms of rascal

angel, innocent, saint

hero
2 an appealingly mischievous person
  • You little rascal, I saw you snitching some hors d'oeuvres even though our guests haven't even arrived yet!
Synonyms of rascal

devil, hellion, imp, mischief, monkey, rapscallion, rogue, scamp, urchin
Words Related to rascal

cutup, madcap, skylarker

brat, nuisance

juvenile delinquent

gamin, gamine
Near Antonyms of rascal

beast, boor, cad, churl, clown, creep, cretin, cur, heel, joker, louse, lout, skunk, snake, stinkard, stinker

knave, miscreant, reprobate, scalawag (or scallywag), scoundrel, varlet, villain

Learn More about rascal

  1. See words that rhyme with rascal Dictionary: Definition of rascal Spanish Central: Translation of rascal Nglish: Translation of rascal for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of rascal for Arabic speakers

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up rascal? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

WORD OF THE DAY

petard

play

a case containing an explosive

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. embolization 'the process by which a blood vessel or organ is obstructed by a material mass'

  2. oleaginous 'marked by an offensively ingratiating manner or quality'

  3. pansexual 'sexual desire or attraction...not limited to a particular gender identity or sexual orientation'

  4. symbiote 'an organism living in symbiosis'

  5. charlatan 'faker or fraud'

SEE ALL

Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Words at Play

image564383649
12 Words from All Over the Map

Some words say exactly where they're from

alt-5b032d1aef0e9
'Ingenious' and 'Ingenuous': More Than a Typo

One's clever, the other's like a child

alt-5b0310daaafde
A Matter-of-Fact Look at 'Deadpan'

Surely we can be serious.

image1481409085
9 Words from the Magical Realm

When language is magic

Ask the Editors

video-ghost-words
Ghost Word

The story of an imaginary word that managed to sneak past our editors and enter the dictionary.

image1760257654
2017 Word of the Year: Behind the Scenes

How we chose 'feminism'

video-literally
Literally

How to use a word that (literally) drives some people nuts.

video-his-or-her
Is Singular 'They' a Better Choice?

The awkward case of 'his or her'

Word Games

spring-flowers
May 2018 Words of the Day Quiz

We’re already at the end of May?!

Take the quiz
image1676440788
Words Used by Nabokov Quiz

How familiar are you with Nabokov’s unfamiliar vocabulary?

Take the quiz
Spell It
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Take the quiz
Citation
Citation

Do you know the person or title these quotes describe?

Play the game