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
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
Marla Jo Fisher, Oc Register, 8 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scalawags
Noun
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And where do the villains come in?—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
25 Feb. 2026
-
His heroic actions — along with those of returning protagonists Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) —ultimately foil the villains.—
Carole Horst,
Variety,
24 Feb. 2026
Noun
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For much of his career, Skarsgård has gravitated toward characters who weaponize physical presence — Vikings, tech titans and mythic brutes whose power is immediately legible.—
Clayton Davis,
Variety,
9 Jan. 2026
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Credit to producers Tim Zinnemann and George Linder for selecting a veritable array of brutes to wage battle with Arnold.—
Duane Byrge,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Whenever there is American resolve, global criminals weaken.—
Rebecca Schneid,
Time,
28 Feb. 2026
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And whenever America is determined, global criminals weaken.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
28 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Or Irish, in a time when they were seen as savages by the Englishmen?—
Arushi Jacob,
Variety,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Other sufferers, however, who submitted entries to the 1983 Migraine Art Competition, depicted their pain in drawings and paintings of nails, needles, axes, ice picks, arrows, bolts, jaws, chisels, shivs, guns, red-hot spears, sledgehammers, devils, and long pins.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
24 Feb. 2026
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There are sounds and shadows in the forest; the Devil, or devils, may be walking the earth.—
Joshua Rothman,
New Yorker,
23 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Over the last several years, changes in the law and an evolving approach regarding youth offenders cleared the way for Williams to ask to have his sentence vacated on the grounds that it could be considered de facto life without parole.—
Teri Figueroa,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
24 Feb. 2026
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Now, the rules committee might propose removing that carryover suspension for first-time offenders, on the basis that an ejection is plenty harsh and doesn’t need to affect an unrelated game.—
Chris Vannini,
New York Times,
22 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Roadrunners, javelinas and gila monsters thrive here, and petroglyphs can be found on rocks in the western district of the park.—
Graham Averill,
Outside,
23 Feb. 2026
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With the ninth main entry in the franchise, Resident Evil Requiem, the monsters show no sign of slowing down.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
20 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Political leaders who encourage or tolerate such scoundrels should be driven from office.—
Tom Nichols,
The Atlantic,
23 Feb. 2026
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Giannis, a gentleman even in this era of scoundrels, likely wants to do right by the Bucks, too.—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
Mercury News,
3 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Scalawags.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scalawags. Accessed 2 Mar. 2026.
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