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

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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 So the sordid and scandalous emails released by the Justice Department that showed Epstein connecting Tisch with numerous women passed NFL muster. — Armando Salguero Outkick, FOXNews.com, 21 Oct. 2026 In a cafe in Mexico City once in the mid-Fifties, Pan spurred Rivera into a debate that Pan believed to have led Rivera to change the most controversial element in one of his most scandalous works. — David Hajdu, Vanity Fair, 20 Oct. 2026 The Indiana native has led a busy, scandalous life on and off MTV’s series. — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 18 Oct. 2026 That such an argument would be offered by a professed Catholic is scandalous. — Arkansas Online, 16 Oct. 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
  • Everyone starts tasting the varied, apparently disgusting, bottles.
    — Alice Burton, Vulture, 6 Nov. 2026
  • The third branch of government did its job, and that should be a welcome sight for all Americans given the disgusting and dangerous attacks on our democracy by the federal government.
    — Dominic Patten, Deadline, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of disgusting
Adjective
  • Rather than pulling Herta’s IndyCar results from the official scoring, the team apparently relied on IndyCar’s erroneous website.
    — Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 2 Nov. 2026
  • According to a lawsuit, a coding error resulted in erroneous scores being generated and reported to third parties over a three-week period between March and April 2022.
    — Brian Sloan,Dan Avery, CNBC, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of erroneous
Adjective
  • The warehouse retailer stock was one of just three Club names in the green in Thursday's ugly market.
    — Natasha Abellard, CNBC, 5 Nov. 2026
  • And not least because no amount of overuse can obscure the ugly origin of 2026’s favorite syntaxx.
    — Hillary Busis, Vanity Fair, 5 Nov. 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
  • Advertisement In Brazil and South America, outbreaks of a fungus that causes a disfiguring and sometimes fatal skin disease have been sickening cats, dogs, and people.
    — Dominique Mosbergen, Time, 27 Oct. 2026
  • And, of course, leave it to Zendaya to add some sickening vintage to the WNBA Finals.
    — Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of sickening
Adjective
  • The group ran ads about past felony bank fraud charges that Ford decried as slanderous.
    — Gregory Royal Pratt, Chicago Tribune, 4 Nov. 2026
  • 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
Definition of slanderous
Adjective
  • Democrats notched several shocking flips in seats President Donald won by double digits in 2024, meaning those districts will be some of the toughest to defend in a more even election cycle.
    — Lauren Green, The Washington Examiner, 6 Nov. 2026
  • Democrats felt optimistic about taking the majority earlier in the night than some had expected after the shocking win in South Carolina.
    — Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of shocking
Adjective
  • During the 2022 midterm elections, independent observers from the Carter Center reported significant numbers of voters arriving at incorrect precincts, likely because of changes associated with redistricting.
    — Kathryn Watson, CBS News, 3 Nov. 2026
  • An earlier version of this story included an incorrect name and gender for the victim in the crash, based on information from the highway patrol.
    — Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of incorrect

Browse Nearby Words

scandalmongers
scandalous
scandals
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Cite this Entry

“Scandalous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scandalous. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

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