as in bastards
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 scumbags
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
John Semley, The Atlantic, 22 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scumbags
Noun
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Gave the two jerks her very best.—
Rachel Raposas,
PEOPLE,
23 Oct. 2025
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Because even in a world of monsters, ghouls, and greedy jerks, the good guys still prevail.—
Gwen Ihnat,
Entertainment Weekly,
18 Oct. 2025
Noun
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By the mid 19th century, clowns were more central to circus entertainment, and their acts more risqué.—
Time,
Time,
30 Oct. 2025
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The clowns come at you quickly at Fast Splash Car Wash in Detroit, Mich.—
Neda Ulaby,
NPR,
27 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Humans have a much larger neocortex than other animals, relative to body size, and the species with the largest neocortices—elephants, dolphins, gorillas, chimpanzees, dogs—are among the most intelligent.—
James Somers,
New Yorker,
3 Nov. 2025
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Humanoids, robotic dogs, and articulated arms don wigs, witch hats, and googly eyes, dancing under red and blue strobes.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
3 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Scumbags.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scumbags. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
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