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 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 And Eli was, at times, a bit of a rascal. — David Kamp, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for rascal

Recent Examples of Synonyms for rascal

Noun

The first episode introduces Pavi (Saheli Khan), a young bender who’s secretly the Avatar and has a pet cat-monkey named Geet.

— Jordan Moreau, Variety, 9 Oct. 2026
To make things even more complicated, the Black Best Actor candidate with the best chance of making it in is probably Jaafar Jackson of Michael — how’s that for a monkey’s paw?

— Nate Jones, Vulture, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of monkey

Noun

The station is soon invaded by out-of-time baseball stars, fairytale villains, and unseasonal snow, all created by aliens eager to understand the concept of imagination.

— Richard Edwards, Space.com, 10 Oct. 2026
Carrie’s focus is also shifted, with the 2013 version finding Chloe Grace Moretz’s Carrie more akin to an X-Men villain than the traumatized, feverish teen Sissy Spacek played in 1976.

— Alex Zalben, IndieWire, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of villain

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

The story begins in 1990, when John Eng, an endocrinologist at the Veterans Administration, isolated a peptide from the venom of Gila monsters, the nearly two-foot-long lizards native to the Southwest.

— Dr. Bowman Heiden, Fortune, 10 Oct. 2026
Here the goal is to traverse a sprawling castle, defeating all kinds of monsters and gathering gear and experience points to get stronger.

— Andrew Webster, The Verge, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of monster

Noun

Perhaps if it had been marketed as a quirky arthouse film, critical expectations might have been tempered and the naysayers’ assessments a bit less savage.

— Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 7 Oct. 2026
The Danish director’s Pusher trilogy (which was restored and rereleased last year) had been handheld, hyperrealistic, and savage; Drive, on the other hand, was ethereal and moody, its characters submerged, their delivery precise.

— Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2026

Definition of savage

Noun

Still, a criminal may combine those details with passwords, PINs or other information stolen elsewhere.

— Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 10 Oct. 2026
Pillay, 85, received the news while attending a forum in Nuremberg, Germany, where the trials of Nazi war criminals helped lay the foundations of international law.

— Stefanie Dazio, Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of criminal

Noun

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
But as with any good Leonard story, the best moments come from the characters, a rogues’ gallery of violent ruffians and neurotic, duplicitous scoundrels.

— Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of scoundrel

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rarity

rascal

rascality

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“Rascal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rascal. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of rascal

noun

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