scapegrace

noun

ˈskāp-ˌgrās How to pronounce scapegrace (audio)
Definition of scapegracenext
as in villain
a mean, evil, or unprincipled person a whoring, drunken scapegrace who was blackening the family's name

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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 scapegrace Suddenly, Juliana’s romantic ennui is interrupted by the reappearance, after an 11-year absence, of her scapegrace oldest brother. — Michael Dirda, Washington Post, 12 Feb. 2020 The Middle Ages died dismally, and the scapegrace poet Francois Villon sang their requiem in the wineshops of the Cité. — Bruce Dale, National Geographic, 17 Apr. 2019 Somehow, a theme-park ride combined with clever, madcap visuals and Johnny Depp’s scapegrace showboating added up to something fresh. — A. O. Scott, New York Times, 25 May 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scapegrace
  1. villain
  2. brute
  3. savage
  4. monster
  5. criminal
  6. devil
  7. wretch
  8. scoundrel
Noun
  • Rival fans were quick to jump all over this fact, given that both the Panthers and the Tkachuk brothers were seen as polarizing villains throughout the NHL.
    — Austin Perry OutKick, FOXNews.com, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Is that the most difficult thing for you as the showrunner of a political show today — a president as a villain?
    — Yvonne Villarreal, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of villain
Noun
  • Most sportsmen wonder how any whitetail bucks, let alone a brute such as Kontras’, could have been so easily patterned.
    — Jeff Murray, Outdoor Life, 20 Aug. 2026
  • The show’s depiction of Hugh as a family man has been much more sympathetic than the book’s description of him as a power-hungry brute.
    — James Grebey, Vulture, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of brute
Noun
  • Perhaps if it had been marketed as a quirky arthouse film, critical expectations might have been tempered and the naysayers’ assessments a bit less savage.
    — Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 7 Oct. 2026
  • The Danish director’s Pusher trilogy (which was restored and rereleased last year) had been handheld, hyperrealistic, and savage; Drive, on the other hand, was ethereal and moody, its characters submerged, their delivery precise.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of savage
Noun
  • Diagnose the monster before deciding which mind and which move are required to outwit it.
    — Jeff DeGraff, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2026
  • That led him to snowy Deadwood, South Dakota, and a turn as local guide Gil Jackson in the horror heist movie Beast From Haunted Cave (1959), produced by Roger’s brother, Gene Corman, and featuring Chris Robinson as the monster.
    — Mike Barnes, HollywoodReporter, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of monster
Noun
  • Still, a criminal may combine those details with passwords, PINs or other information stolen elsewhere.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Pillay, 85, received the news while attending a forum in Nuremberg, Germany, where the trials of Nazi war criminals helped lay the foundations of international law.
    — Stefanie Dazio, Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of criminal
Noun
  • Behave yourself, buddy, or the little red devil will take you away!
    — Sanat Pai Raikar, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Dostoyevsky’s sniveling devil comes closest to portraying the man chiefly responsible for organizing the Final Solution.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of devil
Noun
  • The first time, Julian’s children (James Corden, Jessica Gunning) seemed like miserable, greedy wretches.
    — Brent Lang, Variety, 11 Apr. 2026
  • The elegant sets and lavish costume designs are stunning, as is Jacob Elordi's multi-faceted performance as the intelligent wretch stitched together from corpses.
    — Jeff Spry, Space.com, 27 Dec. 2025
Definition of wretch
Noun
  • There’s been bestselling books, podcasts, an Alex Gibney documentary, and an Emmy-winning series featuring Amanda Seyfried as the Silicon Valley scoundrel.
    — Brent Lang, IndieWire, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Meanwhile, Frank Dillane plays Willoughby, Marianne’s love interest, with such commitment that the actor was surprised to learn his character is universally acknowledged to be a scoundrel.
    — Rebecca Mead, New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of scoundrel

Browse Nearby Words

scapegoats
scapegrace
scapegraces
See all Nearby Words

Podcast

Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP

Cite this Entry

“Scapegrace.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scapegrace. Accessed 19 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 fervid

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

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

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

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

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
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
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All