Meaning & use
miscreant
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Meaning
nouncountableold-fashionedhumorous
A person who behaves badly or does illegal things; a wrongdoer or villain.
Grammar: Countable: a miscreant, two miscreants. Often slightly old-fashioned or ironic.
Patterns
- a miscreant who does something
- catch a miscreant
The old judge called the thief a miscreant and sent him to prison.
Some miscreant had scratched the car with a key.
In the play, the miscreant finally admits his crimes.
Word forms
| plural | miscreants |
|---|
Common combinations
- a young miscreant
- The neighbors complained about a young miscreant who kept ringing doorbells.
- catch a miscreant
- The police finally caught the miscreant who had been stealing bikes.
- a band of miscreants
- A band of miscreants had broken into the shop overnight.
- call someone a miscreant
- She called the dishonest official a miscreant in her speech.
Synonyms and how they differ
- villain
- Villain is the usual word in stories for a bad character; miscreant sounds more old-fashioned or mocking.
- wrongdoer
- Wrongdoer is more neutral and legal-sounding; miscreant carries a stronger tone of disapproval.
- rogue
- Rogue can sound almost admiring or playful; miscreant is more critical.
Opposites
Word family
- miscreancy noun
- Rare; the state or behavior of a miscreant.
Commonly confused: miscreant or miscreant? miscreant or migrant?
miscreant vs miscreant
Do not confuse with 'miscreant' and 'misinterpret'; they are unrelated.
miscreant vs migrant
Migrant means a person who moves to another place; miscreant means a wrongdoer.
Practice
The newspaper described the vandals as ______ who had no respect for public property.
Choose one answer.
The plural 'miscreants' fits because the vandals are more than one person. 'Miscreant' is singular and would need 'a' before it; 'miscreancy' is a rare noun meaning the behavior, not the people; 'miscreantly' is not a standard word.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “miscreant”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.