miscreant

[ mis-kree-uhnt ]
See synonyms for miscreant on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. depraved, villainous, or base.

  2. Archaic. holding a false or unorthodox religious belief; heretical.

noun
  1. a vicious or depraved person; villain.

  2. Archaic. a heretic or infidel.

Origin of miscreant

1
1350–1400; Middle English <Middle French mescreant unbelieving, equivalent to mes-mis-1 + creant ≪ Latin crēdent-credent

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

How to use miscreant in a sentence

  • His face was full of wrath as he gazed within, and he quivered with fury as he ordered the two miscreants out of the place.

    Scattergood Baines | Clarence Budington Kelland
  • We must admit it among ourselves, Jeronimo, those miscreants showed themselves quite tolerant!

  • Jaffar drew his sabre and fell upon the miscreants: one he killed, the other he drove away.

  • He intended to employ all the time and the utmost ability he possessed in defeating the atrocious plot of the miscreants.

    Two Boys in Wyoming | Edward S. Ellis
  • I declare miscreants and slanderers any who shall think or say the contrary.

British Dictionary definitions for miscreant

miscreant

/ (ˈmɪskrɪənt) /


noun
  1. a wrongdoer or villain

  2. archaic an unbeliever or heretic

adjective
  1. evil or villainous

  2. archaic unbelieving or heretical

Origin of miscreant

1
C14: from Old French mescreant unbelieving, from mes- mis- 1 + creant, ultimately from Latin credere to believe

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