scandalous

adjective

ˈskan-də-ləs How to pronounce scandalous (audio)
Definition of scandalousnext
1
as in disgusting
causing intense displeasure, disgust, or resentment the scandalous news that police officers had been taking bribes

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in erroneous
causing or intended to cause unjust injury to a person's good name spread a scandalous rumor about a coworker that almost cost him his job

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 scandalous Think of Venus retrograde in Scorpio and Libra, from October 3 to November 13, as a steamy, scandalous romance novel that fuels our passions and liaisons. — Lisa Stardust, Vogue, 1 Oct. 2026 The pull of the scandalous Spencer lore is simply too much for the tabloids to resist. — Elise Taylor, Vanity Fair, 29 Sep. 2026 The International Auschwitz Committee slammed the CDU’s support of the motion as scandalous, according to Deutsche Welle. — Sophie Tanno, CNN Money, 26 Sep. 2026 Copies of the original book have sold for as much as $2,000 online, TCU Press director Dan Williams said, and the author’s sons believe Phillips left Fort Worth because of the backlash to his scandalous debut. — Tom Johanningmeier. Produced With Ai Assistance, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for scandalous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scandalous
  1. disgusting
  2. erroneous
  3. ugly
  4. libelous
  5. sickening
  6. slanderous
  7. shocking
  8. incorrect
Adjective
  • Comparing the administration's fight to protect women and women's spaces from males to rape, is utterly disgusting and actually devalues those atrocities and crimes against actual women.
    — Jon Root OutKick, FOXNews.com, 23 Oct. 2026
  • The squad has not been beefed up at all after a shameful and disgusting transfer window.
    — Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of disgusting
Adjective
  • Bisignano, a former Wall Street CEO who has been overhauling how the agency operates, also said SSA was working to fix erroneous records.
    — Fernanda Tronco, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2026
  • In his own review of the case, Mandell failed to flag an erroneous jury instruction that four years later would lead to the conviction being overturned.
    — Samantha Melamed, ProPublica, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of erroneous
Adjective
  • The bad and ugly, though, has been a long list in years past, but especially in this season.
    — Scott Thompson OutKick, FOXNews.com, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Hidden truths rear their ugly head, making for an increasingly tense triangle interaction.
    — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of ugly
Adjective
  • Questions concern how the courts would assess who or what might be responsible for faulty algorithms or other flaws in system design and whether a robot was negligent or malicious when disseminating libelous content damaging individuals or organizations.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 May 2026
  • In recent weeks, though, her group has doubled in size, and while in the past there were only two or three posts per day, Mitchell and her new moderators now have to wade through 60-plus comments ranging from helpful to libelous.
    — Brenna Ehrlich, Rolling Stone, 25 Apr. 2025
Definition of libelous
Adjective
  • Hell, even recurring characters drop off without so much as the courtesy of a sickening demise.
    — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Hersh was held hostage for 328 sickening, agonizing, and starving days until his captors executed him with five other young and luminous people in a tunnel underneath Gaza.
    — Rachel Goldberg-Polin, Time, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of sickening
Adjective
  • Cloud launched slanderous accusations about the spectator’s personal life based on nothing more than a brief clip of him pointing a finger.
    — Alejandro Avila OutKick, FOXNews.com, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Created under O’Hare’s leadership, the decorum policy prohibits personal attacks, impertinent, profane, obscene, or slanderous remarks as well as threatening, disruptive or unruly behavior.
    — Rachel Royster, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of slanderous
Adjective
  • The mother of a toddler who was found breathing in a hospital morgue hours after being pronounced dead is speaking out about the shocking incident.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Sunday’s shocking loss to the Arizona Cardinals dropped Los Angeles to 2-4, and, suddenly, a team that entered the season with Super Bowl aspirations is fighting to stay in the playoff picture.
    — Andy Scholes, CNN Money, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of shocking
Adjective
  • The reality, of course, is that the Southern accent is not some incorrect version of a national standard but instead a historically separate and unique dialect – or, more accurately, set of dialects.
    — Valerie M. Fridland, The Conversation, 20 Oct. 2026
  • And Ballmer and the Clippers remain adamant the penalties—and the allegations of misconduct—are incorrect.
    — Joshua Hong, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of incorrect

Browse Nearby Words

scandalmongers
scandalous
scandals
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Scandalous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scandalous. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of puissant

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 23

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All