as in immoral
not guided by or showing a concern for what is right
an unscrupulous businessman manipulated them into selling their land for practically nothing
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Recent Examples of unscrupulous
Kyle goes to prison in what appears to be a selfless act to protect the Kingstown Police Department from the prosecution at the risk of their unscrupulous tactics being exposed, and protecting his brother Mike.
—
Demetrius Patterson, HollywoodReporter, 9 Jan. 2026
Tourists seeking to visit the Statue of Liberty were defrauded daily by unscrupulous ticket-hawkers pitching water tours departing miles away that charge high prices and can’t land on Liberty Island.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 7 Jan. 2026
As thousands gathered to wait overnight in freezing temperatures to purchase tickets for Zeppelin’s upcoming concert, a few unscrupulous fans broke into the seating area of the arena and caused thousands of dollars of damage.
—Lorenzino Estrada, AZCentral.com, 6 Jan. 2026
For laws to impact unscrupulous behavior, enforcement is crucial.
—Ct Mirror, Hartford Courant, 2 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for unscrupulous
Demetrius Patterson, HollywoodReporter, 9 Jan. 2026
Tourists seeking to visit the Statue of Liberty were defrauded daily by unscrupulous ticket-hawkers pitching water tours departing miles away that charge high prices and can’t land on Liberty Island.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 7 Jan. 2026
As thousands gathered to wait overnight in freezing temperatures to purchase tickets for Zeppelin’s upcoming concert, a few unscrupulous fans broke into the seating area of the arena and caused thousands of dollars of damage.
—Lorenzino Estrada, AZCentral.com, 6 Jan. 2026
For laws to impact unscrupulous behavior, enforcement is crucial.
—Ct Mirror, Hartford Courant, 2 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for unscrupulous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unscrupulous
Adjective
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The long-term damage that an unqualified, incompetent, compromised or immoral — but superpowered — mayor can inflict on the city is too great.—
Steven Falk,
Mercury News,
6 Feb. 2026
-
Tourism dollars flowed in, even if the prettified Southern history being sold ignored the immoral plague that built its riches in the first place.—
Robert Abele,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Figure skating is ruthless that way.—
Marcus Thompson II,
New York Times,
4 Feb. 2026
-
Pursued by both the FBI and a ruthless crime boss (Bening), Lucky must fight for her life — and a way out.—
Dessi Gomez,
Deadline,
3 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
There, the political and commercial elites don’t shy away from murder to defend potentially corrupt schemes.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
6 Feb. 2026
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Harrowing revelations about corrupt leaders, child rape and grooming come to the fore, and a stop-clock on the back wall counts down the minutes and seconds until the play’s most paralyzing realization.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
5 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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In the past, that’s opened small businesses to frivolous lawsuits filed by unprincipled lawyers that file massive lawsuits and offer quick settlements.—
Erica Goldstein,
Boston Herald,
9 Sep. 2025
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Rule by ‘ambitious, and unprincipled men’ Partisanship is the primary problem for the American republic, according to Washington.—
Robert A. Strong,
The Conversation,
8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Thanks to older siblings and friends, permissive parents, fake IDs, and unethical sellers, some young people have always found ways to evade these bans, and similar tactics could work for surmounting a social-media ban as well.—
Keith Humphreys,
The Atlantic,
2 Feb. 2026
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The legacy of unethical medical research in this country runs even deeper than the Tuskegee experiments.—
Akilah Weber Pierson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
30 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Unscrupulous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unscrupulous. Accessed 11 Feb. 2026.
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