1
as in masses
people looked down upon as ignorant and of the lowest class
claimed that only scum lived in that part of town
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in bastard
a person whose behavior is offensive to others
ignore the heckler—he's complete scum
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of scum
The wastewater exits the home into the septic tank, where solids settle to the bottom of the tank to form a sludge layer, and the lighter waste forms a scum layer that floats at the top.
—
Timothy Dale, Better Homes & Gardens, 14 Aug. 2025
That practice left oily scum on beaches, along with various solids.
—Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 6 Aug. 2025
And sometimes the best care is not bringing in a bunch of — as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar put it — a throbbing scum of fame-hungry desperados.
—Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 31 July 2025
Harmful algal blooms form scums at the water surface and produce toxins that can harm ecosystems, water quality and human health.
—Gregory J. Dick, The Conversation, 26 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for scum
Timothy Dale, Better Homes & Gardens, 14 Aug. 2025
That practice left oily scum on beaches, along with various solids.
—Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 6 Aug. 2025
And sometimes the best care is not bringing in a bunch of — as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar put it — a throbbing scum of fame-hungry desperados.
—Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 31 July 2025
Harmful algal blooms form scums at the water surface and produce toxins that can harm ecosystems, water quality and human health.
—Gregory J. Dick, The Conversation, 26 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for scum
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scum
Noun
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There was little-to-no doubt Jurgen Klopp’s side were going to defeat Ralf Rangnick’s under-interim-management rabble that day.—
Carl Anka,
The Athletic,
4 Jan. 2025
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Advertisement From start to finish, pure madness, amid a rabble that never calmed, never quieted, never quit.—
Bill Plaschke,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Oct. 2024
Noun
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Cianfrance supplies a real jerk of a manager in Peter Dinklage’s Mitch, on whom Jeffrey spies by setting up baby monitors in the back office.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
7 Sep. 2025
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Imagine smoky jerk chicken cooked to perfection on an open-flame at a roadside shack, beckoning you to stop by for a mouthwatering bite.—
Martie Bowser,
Miami Herald,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Today, the best fashion schools have made sustainability a core principle, and the designers graduating from the world’s best design programs, like Nale, are looking at their future careers through a different lens than what the general populace is used to expecting from Fashion.—
Rachel Elspeth Gross,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
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Rather than unifying and pacifying a populace, this kind of media encouraged idiosyncratic, extreme views.—
Livia Gershon,
JSTOR Daily,
8 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Nothing sends chills down your spine like evil clowns, undead monsters and a filthy car.—
Charlie Vargas,
Oc Register,
12 Sep. 2025
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Someone should be impeaching this Laporta clown.—
Pol Ballus,
New York Times,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Soldiers have also been spotted in parks carrying out tasks typically assigned to gardeners and landscapers – shoveling mulch, blowing leaves and scooping up trash.—
Cybele Mayes-Osterman,
USA Today,
14 Sep. 2025
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When the news first spread through the Burning Man rumor mill, the first reaction seemed to be confusion — rumors there are supposed to be about whether Daft Punk is playing at the trash fence or a major art piece burn has been rescheduled, not a grisly death.—
Denver Nicks,
Rolling Stone,
14 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Robotic dogs and militant imagery stand in for violence and human invention turned destructive.—
David Hochman,
Forbes.com,
14 Sep. 2025
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In Toledo, a misread contributed to a Black man being mauled by a police K-9 dog after a traffic stop.—
Jennifer Jolly,
USA Today,
14 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Somehow, this respectable foe of radicalism had organized the political realignment that broke up the Union, sustained the war that overthrew the South’s ruling class, and managed the struggle that emancipated its proletariat.—
Matthew Karp,
Harpers Magazine,
29 Apr. 2025
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As is the case with the aesthetics of people, exquisite lines can be found on patrician and proletariat cars alike.—
Robert Ross,
Robb Report,
21 Feb. 2025
Noun
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After World War I, fur remained a status garment, though lower-cost furs like skunk, mole, and musquash entered mainstream winter wear.—
Lydia Patrick,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Sep. 2025
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Around 75% of Americans are exposed to raccoons, skunks and foxes — the very wildlife that commonly spread the fatal disease to humans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.—
Shiv Sudhakar,
FOXNews.com,
5 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Scum.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scum. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.
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