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

Conspiracy theories — of euthanasia, of sterilization, of American bad intentions involving CIA spies, of viruses bred in pig cells (for those who kept Halal) or monkey cells (to Hindus for whom the macaque is sacred) — were common.

— Eli Cahan, Rolling Stone, 21 Aug. 2026
Officers were called to Rufe Snow Drive and Loop 820 for reports of an animal that witnesses at first believed might be a kangaroo or monkey, police said in a news release.

— Amy McDaniel, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of monkey

Noun

Furious drops the ball a bit in the interactions with Emma and Jay Easton, turning them into one-dimensional caricatures instead of complex villains, but honestly, this show isn’t really about them.

— Erin Qualey, Vulture, 24 Aug. 2026
Saoirse Ronan is ready to step into the dark side and is doubling down on wanting to play a villain in the James Bond universe.

— Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of villain

Noun

In January, Watts was a guest on actor Rainn Wilson’s podcast, where Watts played devil’s advocate to Wilson’s skeptic about casual use of mind-altering substances.

— Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 20 Aug. 2026
Throughout the movie, two mentors stand over each of his shoulders like an aproned angel and devil.

— Alison Willmore, Vulture, 7 Aug. 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

Trying to clear his name, Eddie Brock is hunted by a monster sent by the creator of the symbiotes, only to uncover a secret operation in Area 51 to harvest the creatures and exploit them.

— K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 21 Aug. 2026
The league is hurtling toward an ugly lockout, with owners preparing to cry poverty and demand a hard salary cap to stop the spending monster in Southern California.

— Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of monster

Noun

Manson and his followers evaded police for months but were eventually arrested and charged in the savage slayings in December 1969.

— Lynsey Eidell, PEOPLE, 15 Aug. 2026
For all its characteristic restraint and formal diligence, Killing Spree is a book that wants to make noise, to cut through the dead air with cries of grief and rage, undoing our own savage torpor.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Aug. 2026

Definition of savage

Noun

Boxing is fun especially when the boxer in question is beating up criminals in East London.

— Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2026
Working together to track these flows would reduce the chance that international criminals can extend their reach beyond any single jurisdiction.

— Alvin Camba, Foreign Affairs, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of criminal

Noun

That range runs from scoundrels to astromechs, and a Jedi is on the table too.

— Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2026
But Roy Cohn—an American scoundrel and the lawyer who helped send Julius and Ethel Rosenberg to the electric chair, aided Senator Joseph McCarthy in implementing the Red Scare, and showed Trump the ropes in the real-estate business—was long gone.

— Kai Bird, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 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 31 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of rascal

noun

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