scoundrel
Americannoun
adjective
noun
Related Words
See knave.
Other Word Forms
- scoundrelly adjective
Etymology
Origin of scoundrel
First recorded in 1580–90; origin uncertain
Explanation
A scoundrel is a person who does deliberately evil things. If your brother hides a fake mouse in your shoe and you therefore almost have a heart attack while getting dressed, you have every right to call him a scoundrel. Though the term scoundrel isn’t used as much as it once was, it’s the perfect way to describe someone who breaks the law, has no morals, or someone like your sneaky sibling who loves to play practical jokes. Most villains in movies and on television can be put in this category. Interestingly, though women are quite capable of equally wicked behavior, this particular term is usually reserved for men.
Vocabulary lists containing scoundrel
Scrooge, Grinch, and Churl: Wonderful Words for Unpleasant People
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"The Treasure of Lemon Brown"
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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The question Mr. Junod explores is whether his father was a scoundrel or merely a rascal.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026
He’s similar to Adam Sandler’s rapacious jeweler in “Uncut Gems,” except that scoundrel contained his damage to the Diamond District and people as shady as him.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 23, 2025
Meanwhile, Dukes’s fellow delegates at the statehouse derided him as a scoundrel and maneuvered to expel him from office.
From Washington Post • Dec. 26, 2022
It stars Davis and Val Kilmer as sorcerer and scoundrel, the bickering protectors of a baby princess with magic powers.
From New York Times • Dec. 6, 2022
In the end, then, it had had to be managed with the Old Lord’s agent, an oily scoundrel whose hands were heavy with the money that stuck to them in passing.
From "The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
