scandal

[ skan-dl ]
See synonyms for: scandalscandals on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a disgraceful or discreditable action, circumstance, etc.

  2. an offense caused by a fault or misdeed.

  1. damage to reputation; public disgrace.

  2. defamatory talk; malicious gossip.

  3. a person whose conduct brings disgrace or offense.

verb (used with object),scan·daled, scan·dal·ing or (especially British) scan·dalled, scan·dal·ling.
  1. British Dialect. to defame (someone) by spreading scandal.

  2. Obsolete. to disgrace.

Origin of scandal

1
1175–1225; from Late Latin scandalum from Late Greek skándalon “snare, cause of moral stumbling”; replacing Middle English scandle from Old French (north) escandle from Late Latin, as above

synonym study For scandal

4. See gossip.

Other words for scandal

Opposites for scandal

Other words from scandal

  • min·i·scan·dal, noun
  • su·per·scan·dal, noun

Words Nearby scandal

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use scandal in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for scandal

scandal

/ (ˈskændəl) /


noun
  1. a disgraceful action or event: his negligence was a scandal

  2. censure or outrage arising from an action or event

  1. a person whose conduct causes reproach or disgrace

  2. malicious talk, esp gossip about the private lives of other people

  3. law a libellous action or statement

verb(tr) obsolete
  1. to disgrace

  2. to scandalize

Origin of scandal

1
C16: from Late Latin scandalum stumbling block, from Greek skandalon a trap

Derived forms of scandal

  • scandalous, adjective
  • scandalously, adverb
  • scandalousness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012