Meaning & use

scoundrel

noun·Advanced

A dishonest or immoral person who behaves badly, especially by cheating or deceiving others.

See it in a sentence

The old play features a scoundrel who tricks the townspeople out of their savings.

Everyone in the village knew him as a scoundrel who never paid his debts.

A note on using this word

Scoundrel has an old-fashioned, slightly humorous tone and appears more often in fiction than everyday speech.

Words with a similar meaning

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “scoundrel”, then compare your use with the examples above.

Your draft stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.