as in villain
a mean, evil, or unprincipled person
a whoring, drunken scapegrace who was blackening the family's name
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Recent Examples of scapegrace
Her affect evokes old-timey words — scamp, scapegrace, minx.
—
New York Times, 22 July 2021
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
New York Times, 22 July 2021
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scapegrace
Noun
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The horror film, which is directed by James Watkins, will track the origins of the shape-shifting villain, played by Tom Rhys Harries.—
Giana Levy,
Variety,
22 Apr. 2026
-
But what makes this situation so hard is that there’s no obvious villain and no dramatic fallout (which, in some ways, would almost be easier to deal with).—
Jenna Ryu,
SELF,
22 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
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
-
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
Noun
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Pratt, in particular, brings ferocity to the savage antagonist Jack, a turn that signals the arrival of a major young talent.—
Clayton Davis,
Variety,
14 Apr. 2026
-
One answer would be that the more savage the storm, the more urgent the need for safe havens.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The wereboar growled next to Black Pudding, a hulking vicious monster, both focused on ripping Puck and Cordelia to shreds.—
Jaclyn Cosgrove,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Daniel Bernhardt is Deathstalker, a legendary swordsman stuck with a cursed amulet who befriends swamp monsters and teams with a mini wizard (voiced by Patton Oswalt) to stop a dark magic from ruling the land.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
10 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The scheme is designed to identify suspected criminals, combat identity fraud, and to police the EU's limit on 90-day stays within a 180-day period, according to the European Commission.—
Emma Clarke,
Condé Nast Traveler,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Rex Heuermann, the man known as the Gilgo Beach killer, admitted to killing eight women over a span of decades, and the FBI is now looking into what motivated the 62-year-old to carry out his crimes to help capture other criminals in the future.—
Matt Lavietes,
NBC news,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
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While the movie has some fun asking whether people actually want to know everything about their partners (a devil’s bargain since time immemorial), its real interest lies in how that knowledge is colored by who shares it.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
31 Mar. 2026
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Its theme — that the rich are different, and in not-good ways — meant she’d be forced into a ritualistic game of hide-and-seek, running for her life from her devil-worshipping, masters-of-the-world in-laws.—
Michael Ordoña,
Houston Chronicle,
19 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The first time, Julian’s children (James Corden, Jessica Gunning) seemed like miserable, greedy wretches.—
Brent Lang,
Variety,
11 Apr. 2026
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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
Noun
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New Orleans has long been notorious for embracing such scoundrels, a reputation that isn’t exactly helped by the fact that, for many years, disgraced attorneys who lost their licenses in Louisiana and applied for readmission to the bar often got it.—
Patrick Radden Keefe,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
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Sure, the Oscar-winning makeup helps transform the actor into Cheney, but the voice and petulance are all Bale, whose conjuring of this scoundrel ought to trigger PTSD for anyone who survived the Dubya years.—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
7 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Scapegrace.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scapegrace. Accessed 26 Apr. 2026.
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