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
Soul Quest Overdrive takes a page out of Aqua Teen Hunger Force’s book and follows four anthropomorphic pieces of sports gear that are absolute scumbags.
—
Eric Vilas-Boas, Vulture, 18 Mar. 2026
Ninety-nine percent of politicians are scumbags.
—Tony Dokoupil, CBS News, 16 Nov. 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
Eric Vilas-Boas, Vulture, 18 Mar. 2026
Ninety-nine percent of politicians are scumbags.
—Tony Dokoupil, CBS News, 16 Nov. 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scumbags
Noun
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To relitigate the matter on behalf of Musk only served to underline the conviction that all of these jerks deserved one another.—
Gideon Lewis-Kraus,
New Yorker,
20 May 2026
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Here, witches are real — and so are jerks.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Grotesque sea hags, killer clowns, demonic self-help books and more plague the town and its mayor, Tom Loftis (Matthew Rhys).—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
29 May 2026
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The four paintings are Joan Miró’s Composition (1953), Maurice Utrillo’s Maison de rendez-vous de chasse de Henri IV, rue Saint-Vincent, Montmartre (1934), Balthus’s Etude pour femme couchée (1948), and Pablo Picasso’s L’Ecuyere et les clowns (1961).—
Daniel Cassady,
ARTnews.com,
6 May 2026
Noun
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The Art of the Pet package really rolls out the red carpet for dogs at this dog-only property.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 June 2026
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Thousands of mail carriers across the United States were attacked by dogs in 2025, with Los Angeles topping the list for most attacks, according to a new report from the United States Postal Service.—
Saman Shafiq,
USA Today,
1 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Scumbags.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scumbags. Accessed 4 Jun. 2026.
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