RASCAL Synonyms: 106 Similar and Opposite Words

rascal

noun

ˈra-skəl

Definition of rascal

as in monkey

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 & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in villain

a mean, evil, or unprincipled person some cold-blooded rascal had set the barn afire

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 rascal 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 In a time when unemployment is on the rise and the rich are running amok and wreaking havoc on the poor — and the social services in place to support them — who doesn’t love the idea of rogue rascals sticking it to a bougie institution by running off with its crown jewels? — Kathleen Newman-Bremang, Refinery29, 12 Nov. 2025 The hilarious hijinks that ensue are centered on a rugby-playing rascal whose initial interests in pulling chicks and working get-rich-quick schemes give way to a lifelong love of writing poetry in the post-Soviet-occupation era of the 1990s. — Courtney Howard, Variety, 30 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for rascal

Recent Examples of Synonyms for rascal

Noun

To see if those different histories made the monkeys more germophobic, the researchers presented individuals with two tasty treats — grapes.

— Jonathan Lambert, NPR, 23 Oct. 2026
From there on, CERMA (Centre d'Enseignement et de Recherches de Médecine Aéronautique) changed its research to flying monkeys.

— Robert Z. Pearlman, Space.com, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of monkey

Noun

Still, this villain’s origin story works better as a showcase for effects than anything tragic.

— Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026
Directed by Grammy Award-winning filmmaker James Mackel, the visual is three-and-a-half minutes of spy stuff, our hero, dressed to impress, making short work of the many villains who lurk in her hotel.

— Lars Brandle, Billboard, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of villain

Noun

In Jennifer’s Body, Needy (Seyfried) is BFFs with the titular mean girl played by Fox, whose body becomes possessed by a succubus with a taste for teen boys after a botched sacrifice by a devil-worshipping boy band (led by Adam Brody).

— Glenn Garner, Deadline, 16 Oct. 2026
Behave yourself, buddy, or the little red devil will take you away!

— Sanat Pai Raikar, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of devil

Noun

Most sportsmen wonder how any whitetail bucks, let alone a brute such as Kontras’, could have been so easily patterned.

— Jeff Murray, Outdoor Life, 20 Aug. 2026
The show’s depiction of Hugh as a family man has been much more sympathetic than the book’s description of him as a power-hungry brute.

— James Grebey, Vulture, 10 Aug. 2026

Definition of brute

Noun

At last untethered from merely adapting a standard comfy passenger vehicle, the AMG engineers have created a monster.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 24 Oct. 2026
Set on a mysterious island ravaged by floods and warring armies, a masked boy and girl must traverse atmospheric environments, rescue friends, and confront nightmarish monsters.

— K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of monster

Noun

And mostly, the comedian known for his savage takedowns and viral beefs is keeping his cool.

— Timothy Bella, HollywoodReporter, 20 Oct. 2026
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

Definition of savage

Noun

That same month, criminals nabbed a $4 million diamond necklace from Vienna’s Museum of Applied Arts (MAK).

— Lianne Kolirin, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2026
For decades, Hollywood actor Danny Trejo’s bread and butter was playing gangsters, prison inmates and other assorted criminals.

— Corky Siemaszko, NBC news, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of criminal

Noun

There’s been bestselling books, podcasts, an Alex Gibney documentary, and an Emmy-winning series featuring Amanda Seyfried as the Silicon Valley scoundrel.

— Brent Lang, IndieWire, 16 Oct. 2026
Meanwhile, Frank Dillane plays Willoughby, Marianne’s love interest, with such commitment that the actor was surprised to learn his character is universally acknowledged to be a scoundrel.

— Rebecca Mead, New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2026

Definition of scoundrel

Browse Nearby Words

rarity

rascal

rascality

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Style

“Rascal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rascal. Accessed 26 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of rascal

noun

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