What does "scandalous" mean?
Of a thing: causing or having the nature of a scandal; regarded as so immoral or wrong as to be extremely disgraceful; despicable, shameful.
Scandalous
/ˈskændələs/ adj
adj ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Of a thing: causing or having the nature of a scandal; regarded as so immoral or wrong as to be extremely disgraceful; despicable, shameful.
- Grammar: scandalous is listed as adj.
- Nearest alternatives: aberrant, abnormal, abominable, abusive.
- Useful contrasts: decent, decorous, discreet.
- Usage evidence: But it is specially evil that the young maiden folk are exceedingly bold of speech and bearing, and curse like troopers, to say nothing of their shameful words and scandalous coarse sayings, which one always hears and learns from another.
How to use "scandalous"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "scandalous" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "scandalous" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "scandalous" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "scandalous" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "scandalous" is acting as adj in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "aberrant" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "scandalous", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Adjective
- 1 Of a thing: causing or having the nature of a scandal; regarded as so immoral or wrong as to be extremely disgraceful; despicable, shameful.
"[S]omthing ſauors / Of Tyrannie, and vvill ignoble make you, / Yea, ſcandalous to the VVorld."
- 2 Of a person: delighted by scandal.
"You are the stateliest deer in all the herd— / Beyond his aim—but I am small and scandalous, / And love to hear bad tales of Philip."
- 3 Of speech or writing: defamatory, malicious.
"Theſe be the ſcandalous reportes of ſuch, / As loues not mee, and hate my Lord too much."
- 4 Exceeding reasonable limits; outrageous. figuratively
"Day after day passed away without bringing any other tidings of him than the report which shortly prevailed in Meryton of his coming no more to Netherfield the whole winter; a report which highly incensed Mrs. Bennet, and which she never failed to contradict as a most scandalous falsehood."
- 5 Of a person: guilty of extremely disgraceful conduct or some misconduct; infamous; also, unfit for their office or position due to misconduct, etc. archaic, obsolete
"[H]e vvas enabled [financially] to become charitable to the poor, and kind to his friends, and to make ſuch proviſion for his children, that they vvere not left ſcandalous, as relating to their or his Profeſſion and Quality."
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 Of information, a statement, etc.: not pertinent to a matter; irrelevant, and bringing the court into disrepute.
"Scandal may be taken advantage of at any time, impertinence not; if reported ſcandalous, it muſt be impertinent of courſe; but it may be impertinent vvithout being ſcandalous. […] [N]othing pertinent to the cauſe can be ſaid to be ſcandalous."
- 7 Causing offence or trouble. obsolete
"[M]any Lavvs, in the change of ignorant and obſcure Ages, may be found both ſcandalous, and full of greevance to their Poſterity that made them, […]"
- 8 Of a disease or symptom: putrid, rotting. obsolete
"Theſe are the Ulcers vvhich render fiſtulæ ani [anal fistulas] ſcandalous. If the matter paſſeth in perineo, for the moſt part it perforates the Urethra, ſometime like a Flute, and the Urine cometh thereout, othertimes it corrupteth vvithin, and diſchargeth the putrefaction into the pelvis."
Adjective
- 1 giving offense to moral sensibilities and injurious to reputation wordnet
Example
"But it is specially evil that the young maiden folk are exceedingly bold of speech and bearing, and curse like troopers, to say nothing of their shameful words and scandalous coarse sayings, which one always hears and learns from another."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "scandalous"?
Common synonyms include: aberrant, abnormal, abominable, abusive, arrant, atrocious.
How do you use "scandalous" in a sentence?
But it is specially evil that the young maiden folk are exceedingly bold of speech and bearing, and curse like troopers, to say nothing of their shameful words and scandalous coarse sayings, which one always hears and learns from another.
How do you pronounce "scandalous"?
Pronounced /ˈskændələs/.
Etymology
From Late Middle English scandalouse (“disgraceful, shameful”), borrowed from Old French scandaleux (“scandalous”) (modern French scandaleux), from Medieval Latin scandalōsus, from Ecclesiastical Latin scandalum (“scandal”) + Latin -ōsus (suffix meaning ‘full of; prone to’ forming adjectives). Scandalum is derived from Ancient Greek σκᾰ́νδᾰλον (skắndălon, “offence, scandal; snare, trap”); further etymology uncertain, possibly from Pre-Greek or Proto-Indo-European *skend- (“to jump”) (referring to a device for climbing or jumping on, such as might be used by someone setting a trap). By surface analysis, scandal + -ous (suffix forming adjectives from nouns, denoting presence of a quality in any degree (typically an abundance), or a relation to the nouns).