variants
or scallywags
as in villains
a mean, evil, or unprincipled person
a scalawag who had taken to begging on street corners while posing as a blind person
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of scalawags
But what the New Yorker writer left behind is some of the finest prose of the 20th century, focusing primarily on the eccentrics, scalawags, seamen, and other denizens of New York’s dank corners.
—
Air Mail,
2 May 2026
Ticketed experiences include a cannon battle aboard a tall ship, tours of the tall ships in port, a mermaid meet-and-greet and swim show, pirate school for scallywags and more.
—
Marla Jo Fisher,
Oc Register,
8 Sep. 2025
Air Mail,
2 May 2026
Ticketed experiences include a cannon battle aboard a tall ship, tours of the tall ships in port, a mermaid meet-and-greet and swim show, pirate school for scallywags and more.
—
Marla Jo Fisher,
Oc Register,
8 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scalawags
Noun
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Together, the band brings to life a mythic world of ancient heroes and villains, attracting an excited audience of headbangers and fantasy fanatics, many of whom show up in costume.
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Animation fans were in for a very tasty treat, as the episode introduced villains and set the tone for the brutal show adapted from the best-selling Vertigo series by the late Anthony Bourdain, co-created with Joel Rose.
Noun
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These brutes commonly exceed 50 pounds.
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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.
Noun
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What begins as a chance to escape the routine of his everyday life quickly spirals into a dangerous gathering of powerful criminals, old enemies, and unresolved loyalties.
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That creates the perfect opening for criminals.
Noun
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Or a group of shipwrecked boys turning into savages and killing one another?
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The Indians in Westerns had war paint and whooped like savages.
Noun
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The 152 rooms celebrate Tasmania’s cultural and creative spirit, from the contemporary paintings of thylacines and Tasmanian devils, to the Blackheart sassafras ceiling inlays.
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But there are lots of potential devils in the details (otherwise there’d be little need for experimental reactors).
Noun
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Deputies responded to the area and identified an undisclosed number of juveniles as the offenders, officials said.
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Survivors have fought for a full public account of priests, with San Francisco the only diocese in the state that has not released such a list of clergy abuse offenders.
Noun
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When the monsters reveal an evil agenda that goes beyond becoming movie stars, the Minions are forced to battle them to save the world.
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In this end-of-the-world scenario, Jack thrives on junk food and video games while gathering a squad of classmates to fight of zombies and monsters.
Noun
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New Orleans has long been notorious for embracing such scoundrels, a reputation that isn’t exactly helped by the fact that, for many years, disgraced attorneys who lost their licenses in Louisiana and applied for readmission to the bar often got it.
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Political leaders who encourage or tolerate such scoundrels should be driven from office.
Cite this Entry
“Scalawags.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scalawags. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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