1
as in monkeys
an appealingly mischievous person
those little scamps are always getting into trouble, but no one has the heart to punish them
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in villains
a mean, evil, or unprincipled person
an insincere and ruthlessly ambitious scamp who was willing to do anything to win the reality show's grand prize
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of scamps
Andrew Walsh, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Jan. 2026
McKelway, who wrote for the magazine from the nineteen-thirties to the sixties, specialized in true-crime stories, bringing to life a gallery of scamps and swindlers and impostors.
—David Grann, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2025
Season 2 brings viewers back to Nevermore Academy, the gothic high school for supernatural scamps that Wednesday enrolled in last time around, and subsequently helped save from Season 1 villains Tyler (Hunter Doohan) and Marilyn Thornhill (Christina Ricci, a one-time Wednesday herself).
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 6 Aug. 2025
Noun
The history of The Little Rascals dates back to the 1920s, when a series of short films called our Our Gang introduced audiences to lovable scamps like Spanky, Alfalfa, Buckwheat, and Porky.
—Andrew Walsh, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Jan. 2026
McKelway, who wrote for the magazine from the nineteen-thirties to the sixties, specialized in true-crime stories, bringing to life a gallery of scamps and swindlers and impostors.
—David Grann, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2025
Season 2 brings viewers back to Nevermore Academy, the gothic high school for supernatural scamps that Wednesday enrolled in last time around, and subsequently helped save from Season 1 villains Tyler (Hunter Doohan) and Marilyn Thornhill (Christina Ricci, a one-time Wednesday herself).
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 6 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scamps
Noun
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In the sketch, Sherman wore oversized fake teeth and mocked Wood’s Manchester accent in a line about removing fluoride from water and eating monkeys.—
Larisha Paul,
Rolling Stone,
29 Apr. 2026
-
Even the photos of giraffes, monkeys, lions, hyenas and rhinos hanging on the walls of the classrooms were selected intentionally — and add a personal touch to the space for Scheible.—
Jenna Ebbers,
Kansas City Star,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The ones to watch out for are the ones who should be villains that aren’t.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
4 May 2026
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The iconic heroes and villains will join familiar faces already found throughout the outpost, including Ahsoka Tano, the Mandalorian, Grogu, R2-D2, Rey and more.—
Colson Thayer,
PEOPLE,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Gentleman thief Sir Charles Lytton (David Niven) circles the prize while Inspector Jacques Clouseau (Peter Sellers) bungles the pursuit with sublime obliviousness.—
Lilah Ramzi,
Vogue,
25 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Ash devils can hurl hot embers in all directions and spark new fires, but this one harmlessly dissipated without spreading the blaze further.—
Blanca Begert,
Los Angeles Times,
3 May 2026
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Other propaganda compared Native people to buffalo, cats, dogs, and devils.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
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That’s happened in several Mid Atlantic rivers, but in the absence of larger brutes like blues and flathead, channels will thrive and can break the 15-pound mark.—
Joe Cermele,
Outdoor Life,
9 Apr. 2026
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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.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Continue reading … FACT CHECK – Washington Post botches Israel-Gaza history leading to major correction.—
,
FOXNews.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
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This notion was based on outdated presumptions of hillforts as being occupied by violent, prehistoric savages.—
News Desk,
Artforum,
10 Apr. 2026
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Or Irish, in a time when they were seen as savages by the Englishmen?—
Arushi Jacob,
Variety,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Sparks muffs the punt and South Alabama recovers on Texas State's 39-yard line.—
Caleb Yum,
Austin American Statesman,
29 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Scamps.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scamps. Accessed 10 May. 2026.
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