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

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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 Together, Venus opposite Pluto retrograde is tumultuous and slightly scandalous. — Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 17 June 2026 These new exhibitions — an examination of American Pop Art, a closer look at the scandalous painting that rocked early 20th-century France and an immersive celebration of Yoko Ono — are all worth the trek. — Catherine Garcia, TheWeek, 11 June 2026 Where is Fanny amongst all this scandalous conduct and penning of literary masterpieces? — Literary Hub, 5 June 2026 Writers, poets, artists, scandalous lovers, and attention-seeking glitterati have all passed through here. — Elizabeth Heath, Travel + Leisure, 2 June 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
  • This is beyond disgusting, photos like this should be private.
    — StyleCaster Editors, StyleCaster, 24 July 2026
  • His shirt was soaked down below his collarbones, clingy and disgusting.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 22 July 2026
Definition of disgusting
Adjective
  • Reports based on the erroneous California Crash Reporting System entry surfaced Monday night, prompting Shanahan to address the crash Tuesday.
    — Cam Inman, Mercury News, 28 July 2026
  • However, the vast majority of these folks did not actually vote, and many asked for their erroneous registrations to be purged, contrary to the Republican fantasy that millions of noncitizens are all gunning to illegally vote.
    — New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 26 July 2026
Definition of erroneous
Adjective
  • It was delivered with sneers, an ugly, small-minded few minutes in support of the sclerotic, disdainful of dynamic change.
    — Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 25 July 2026
  • And after an ugly Congress filled with multiple shutdowns, the House is taking an increasingly confrontational approach toward the Senate.
    — Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 23 July 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
  • To defile the legacy of his family and that family name is sickening, and turns my stomach.
    — Leigh Blickley, Entertainment Weekly, 16 July 2026
  • The 2022 spill was the largest ever from the Keystone pipeline, killing or sickening 2,700 animals.
    — Ella Nilsen, CNN Money, 10 July 2026
Definition of sickening
Adjective
  • Societies throughout history have punished language deemed blasphemous, seditious, inciting or slanderous.
    — Paul Quigley, The Conversation, 13 July 2026
  • The group’s ads on his past felony bank fraud charges were decried by Ford as slanderous.
    — Alice Yin, Chicago Tribune, 18 Mar. 2026
Definition of slanderous
Adjective
  • This mixture of raucous comedy and unusually vivid war scenes was considered quite shocking for its time.
    — Tim Page, The Washington Examiner, 25 July 2026
  • The first story was set in the 1980s while the second volume, recently wrapped, was set in the 1990s, at the dawn of the Internet age and culminated with a shocking finale that left readers’ jaws on the forest floor.
    — Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 25 July 2026
Definition of shocking
Adjective
  • At the World Cup, there were at least six examples of incorrect or — to be generous — highly dubious interventions that made reasonable on-field decisions worse across the 104 matches.
    — Graham Scott, New York Times, 22 July 2026
  • In September, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services sent a notice denying her coverage, citing incorrect income information and stating she wasn't disabled, according to Kolosova and state documents reviewed by KFF Health News.
    — Rachana Pradhan, NPR, 20 July 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 1 Aug. 2026.

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