scurrile

adjective

ˈskər-əl How to pronounce scurrile (audio)
variants or scurril
Definition of scurrilenext
as in abusive
marked by harsh insulting language performs a scurrile comedy routine that is guaranteed to rile people

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for scurrile
  1. abusive
  2. outrageous
  3. insulting
Adjective
  • The Madison Heights resident in 2023 moved into a new apartment after leaving an abusive relationship of four years, according to the lawsuit.
    — Nicholas Lentz, CBS News, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Her hiring came after allegations of a toxic and abusive culture within the department surfaced in a 2020 lawsuit filed by Jennifer Conviser, a sport psychologist who had consulted with DePaul’s athletic department from 2005 to 2018.
    — Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of abusive
Adjective
  • John Oliver’s soap opera summer continues this week, with the Last Week Tonight host donning a truly outrageous wig for a three-episode stint on Days of Our Lives.
    — Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Of course, Gems’ multiple drafts were only the beginning; once the script was ready to green-light, Burton’s design and effects teams had to figure out how to actually bring Gems’ outrageous flights of imagination to life.
    — Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of outrageous
Adjective
  • At the end of the last cruise, everyone shunned me, except for Roy, who instead was cruel and insulting to me.
    — Abigail Van Buren, Boston Herald, 6 Aug. 2026
  • This struck Stevens and her allies as immature, insulting, and more than a little sexist.
    — David Weigel, semafor.com, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of insulting
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

scurries
scurrile
scurrilities
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Scurrile.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scurrile. Accessed 19 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of balmy

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

Is “GIF” Pronounced “Jiff” or “Giff”?

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All