Blackguard

//ˈblæɡɚd// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The lowest servant in a household charged with pots, pans, and other kitchen equipment. historical
  2. 2
    someone who is morally reprehensible wordnet
  3. 3
    An unprincipled, contemptible person; an untrustworthy person. dated

    "1830, Thomas Macaulay, Review of Robert Southey's edition of Pilgrim's Progress, in the Edinburgh Review A man whose manners and sentiments are decidedly below those of his class deserves to be called a blackguard."

  4. 4
    A man who uses foul language in front of a woman (typically a woman of high standing). archaic
Verb
  1. 1
    To revile or abuse in scurrilous language. transitive

    "Persons who passed each other in boats upon the Thames used to blackguard each other, in a trial of wit"

  2. 2
    use foul or abusive language towards wordnet
  3. 3
    To act like a blackguard; to be a scoundrel. intransitive
  4. 4
    subject to laughter or ridicule wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
boundercadabuseabuseagitatorantimodel

Example

More examples

"A cynic is a blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not as they ought to be."

Etymology

From black + guard, thought to have referred originally to the scullions and lower menials of a court, or of a nobleman's household, who wore black liveries or blacked shoes and boots, or were often stained with soot.

Related phrases

foul language

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.