bastard

American  

[bas-terd] / ˈbæs tərd /

noun

1. a person born of unmarried parents; an illegitimate child.

2. Slang.

   1. a vicious, despicable, or thoroughly disliked person.

      Some bastard slashed the tires on my car.

   2. a person, especially a man.

      The poor bastard broke his leg.

3. something irregular, inferior, spurious, or unusual.

4. bastard culverin.

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adjective

1. illegitimate in birth.

2. spurious; not genuine; false.

   The architecture was bastard Gothic.

   Synonyms:

   phony, irregular, sham, imperfect, imitation, fake

3. of abnormal or irregular shape or size; of unusual make or proportions.

   bastard quartz; bastard mahogany.

4. having the appearance of; resembling in some degree.

   a bastard Michelangelo; bastard emeralds.

5. Printing. (of a character) not of the font in which it is used or found.

bastard British  

/ ˈbæs-, ˈbɑːstəd /

noun

1. informal an obnoxious or despicable person

2. informal a person, esp a man

   lucky bastard

3. informal something extremely difficult or unpleasant

   that job is a real bastard

4. old-fashioned a person born of unmarried parents; an illegitimate baby, child, or adult

5. something irregular, abnormal, or inferior

6. a hybrid, esp an accidental or inferior one

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adjective

1. old-fashioned illegitimate by birth

2. irregular, abnormal, or inferior in shape, size, or appearance

3. resembling a specified thing, but not actually being such

   a bastard cedar

4. counterfeit; spurious

Other Word Forms

• bastardly adjective

Etymology

Origin of bastard

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Anglo-French bastard, from Medieval Latin bastardus, perhaps ultimately from Germanic bāst-, bōst- (unrecorded) “marriage” + Old French -ard -ard, taken as signifying the offspring of a polygynous marriage to a woman of lower status, a pagan tradition not sanctioned by the church; compare Old Frisian bost “marriage,” see also bind; the traditional explanation of Old French bastard as derivative of fils de bast “child of a packsaddle” is doubtful on chronological and geographical grounds

Explanation

Bastard used to be a not nice thing you called a child whose parents weren't married. But now it's a more general insult hurled toward a jerk or bad person. Bastard can also simply mean "fraudulent." This is a great example of how words change in meaning over time. Today, if you were called a bastard, it probably has nothing to do with whether or not your parents are married: it just means someone doesn't like you (unless they call you a magnificent bastard, which is a compliment). Bastard can also mean phony or fake, like a bastard version of French that is not correct. When you think bastard, think illegitimate.

Example Sentences

Leonardo da Vinci—whose very name indicates he’s from a place, rather than of a person—was one such bastard.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 23, 2025

He reacts with the defiance of a man whose football-playing friend recently described him as a "hard bastard".

From BBC • Jul. 4, 2025

“And Austin is the bastard stepchild of Texas and it’s just a place that I love. I’m pinching myself that this is all coming together like this.”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 7, 2024

Gov't Mule is kind of the bastard child of the jam scene – the black sheep – because we're heavier than other jam bands.

From Salon • Jun. 17, 2023

"Keep a good edge on that bastard sword of yours. We'll be needing it soon enough."

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin