as in abusive
marked by harsh insulting language
a scurrilous satire on the scandal that enveloped Washington
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of scurrilous
Players known for sometimes scurrilous behavior were scared off by that lifetime ban.
—
John Nogowski, Hartford Courant, 14 May 2025
The good people of Lancaster County were innocent of the charges thrown at them by raving Southerners and scurrilous Democrats.
—Matthew Karp, Harpers Magazine, 29 Apr. 2025
One upshot was Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996, which to this day insulates social media from legal liability for the content — however incendiary or scurrilous — that users post.
—Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 26 Jan. 2025
Facts won’t deter Republicans on this point, however, for the same reason that Trump and his running mate, J. D. Vance, keep repeating their scurrilous lies about Haitian immigrants eating the pets of Ohio: white anxiety about a diversifying country has become one of the Party’s greatest assets.
—Jonathan Blitzer, The New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for scurrilous
John Nogowski, Hartford Courant, 14 May 2025
The good people of Lancaster County were innocent of the charges thrown at them by raving Southerners and scurrilous Democrats.
—Matthew Karp, Harpers Magazine, 29 Apr. 2025
One upshot was Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996, which to this day insulates social media from legal liability for the content — however incendiary or scurrilous — that users post.
—Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 26 Jan. 2025
Facts won’t deter Republicans on this point, however, for the same reason that Trump and his running mate, J. D. Vance, keep repeating their scurrilous lies about Haitian immigrants eating the pets of Ohio: white anxiety about a diversifying country has become one of the Party’s greatest assets.
—Jonathan Blitzer, The New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for scurrilous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scurrilous
Adjective
-
It’s been three years since McCurdy’s memoir cast a sharp eye on her life as a child actor — she’s best known for playing tough girl Samantha Puckett on the Nickelodeon sitcom iCarly — with a controlling, abusive mother.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
20 Jan. 2026
-
Riffing on classic mafia films, Sunny follows a female gangster who fights to protect her sons — and herself — from an abusive drug kingpin.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
20 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Danica Curcic’s character Katarina is much more outrageous, and Danica was not afraid to take that character to her limit.—
Annika Pham,
Variety,
21 Jan. 2026
-
These outrageous price increases seem to be nothing more than corporate greed, which is what is gripping the country across the board and helping to keep inflation rising.—
Reader Commentary,
Baltimore Sun,
15 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Many researchers cite those exact words as insulting or wrong when asked about their own terminations.—
STAT Staff,
STAT,
29 Dec. 2025
-
With two toddlers and a 10-hour workday for her husband, the advice was more insulting than helpful.—
Tereza Shkurtaj,
PEOPLE,
7 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
While touring the plant, video posted by TMZ showed Trump making an obscene gesture at someone who was yelling at him from afar.—
Fortune,
Fortune,
14 Jan. 2026
-
Trump responded with a curse word and using an obscene gesture.—
Jamie L. LaReau,
Freep.com,
14 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Juxtaposed with these vituperative remarks are, naturally, shots of Trump seemingly falling asleep while on camera.—
Jordan Hoffman,
Entertainment Weekly,
26 Dec. 2025
-
From his pulpit, Wicks rains down selectively vituperative fire and brimstone, with an eye toward provoking walkouts from unsuspecting visitors—say, a gay couple or a single mom.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
11 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Scurrilous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scurrilous. Accessed 23 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
