as in bastard
a person whose behavior is offensive to others
don't romanticize that con artist, as she's nothing more than a scumbag who cheats the most vulnerable
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Recent Examples of scumbag
Josh Safdie cannot resist an unrepentant scumbag protagonist.
—
Joe Reid, Vulture, 10 Oct. 2025
Since then, he's played killers, cops, aliens, scumbags, and mean dads in films like Cop Land (1997), The Faculty (1998), and Walk the Line (2005), as well as series such as The X-Files (2000–2002), 1923 (2022–2025), and Peacemaker (2022–present).
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Sep. 2025
Once the province of bikers and sailors and scumbags, tattoos now appear on nearly one-third of all Americans.
—John Semley, The Atlantic, 22 Sep. 2025
There are two types of scumbag in the cybercrime world: those who pick on vulnerable individuals to perpetrate their fraud, and those who target healthcare in search of illicit financial gains.
—Davey Winder, Forbes.com, 20 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scumbag
Joe Reid, Vulture, 10 Oct. 2025
Since then, he's played killers, cops, aliens, scumbags, and mean dads in films like Cop Land (1997), The Faculty (1998), and Walk the Line (2005), as well as series such as The X-Files (2000–2002), 1923 (2022–2025), and Peacemaker (2022–present).
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Sep. 2025
Once the province of bikers and sailors and scumbags, tattoos now appear on nearly one-third of all Americans.
—John Semley, The Atlantic, 22 Sep. 2025
There are two types of scumbag in the cybercrime world: those who pick on vulnerable individuals to perpetrate their fraud, and those who target healthcare in search of illicit financial gains.
—Davey Winder, Forbes.com, 20 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scumbag
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scumbag
Noun
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Drift through the crowd as the smell of smoky jerk chicken and grilled cheese mingles with fresh lumpia, vegan soul bowls, and small-batch kombucha.—
Lewis Nunn,
Forbes.com,
22 Jan. 2026
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The Store offers flavors such as buffalo, garlic parmesan, barbecue, sweet chili, Torrington Hot, mango habanero, Jamaican jerk, spicy harissa, lemon pepper, Marsala, spicy Mediterranean, Tunisian buffalo and garlic hot.—
Pamela McLoughlin,
Hartford Courant,
22 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Brewer depicts the world of music impersonators with a fair amount of affection, like the rodeo clowns of late 20th-century America.—
Peter Tonguette,
The Washington Examiner,
9 Jan. 2026
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Cirque du Soleil is known for its shows featuring acrobats, athletes and clowns – all doing spectacular feats.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
8 Jan. 2026
Noun
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However, one quick look at what companies like Boston Dynamics has achieved with robots like the rather creepy dog-like ‘Spot,’ who herds sheep in New Zealand, and the possibilities seem endless.—
Peter Lyon,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
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While dogs and wolves are genetically almost indistinguishable, the biologist John Bradshaw has studied how vastly different their behavior is.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Scumbag.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scumbag. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
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