scandal
1 of 2noun
scan·dal ˈskan-dᵊl 
1
a
: a circumstance or action that offends propriety or established moral conceptions or disgraces those associated with it
b
: a person whose conduct offends propriety or morality
a scandal to the profession
2
: loss of or damage to reputation caused by actual or apparent violation of morality or propriety : disgrace
3
: malicious or defamatory gossip
4
: indignation, chagrin, or bewilderment brought about by a flagrant violation of morality, propriety, or religious opinion
5
a
: discredit brought upon religion by unseemly conduct in a religious person
b
: conduct that causes or encourages a lapse of faith or of religious obedience in another
scandal
2 of 2verb
scandaled; scandaling; scandals
transitive verb
1
chiefly dialectal : defame, slander
2
obsolete : disgrace
Synonyms
Noun
- disgrace
- dishonor
- opprobrium
- reflection
- reproach
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Noun There was a major scandal involving the mayor's ties with the Mob. Government officials were caught in an embezzlement scandal. Her behavior caused a scandal at school. There was never a hint of scandal during her time in office. The gossip magazine is filled with rumors and scandal. The high price of gas these days is a scandal. It's a scandal that this city doesn't have a movie theater. See More
Recent Examples on the Web
Matthew J. Palm, Orlando Sentinel, 16 Sep. 2022 There’s no indication that the lawyers helping the PUCO have ties to the scandal. Jeremy Pelzer, cleveland, 15 Sep. 2022 And scores of officials in Brazil and across Latin America were implicated in the Oderbrecht scandal, in which the Brazilian construction giant allegedly paid hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes. Paulina Villegas, Washington Post, 13 Sep. 2022 The bank has been working to contain the fallout from a sales-practice scandal, in which it was found to have created perhaps millions of fake bank accounts. Ben Eisen, WSJ, 12 Sep. 2022 That 1919 World Series resulted in what DePorter and many others consider the biggest scandal in the history of sports, known as the Black Sox Scandal. Rick Kogan, Chicago Tribune, 9 Sep. 2022 Trump, meanwhile, heads to Wilkes-Barre, Pa. (where Biden just happened to be earlier in the week) for his own rally on Saturday, as the former president has once again been caught up in scandal, controversy and investigation. Ben Kamisar, NBC News, 2 Sep. 2022 Then there’s this year’s Galaxy S22 performance scandal. Chris Smith, BGR, 2 Sep. 2022 The past year has been ferociously contentious in Morrow County politics, with residents and officials in the small community sparring with one another over the nitrates scandal, school funding, emergency services and county staffing. Mike Rogoway, oregonlive, 2 Sep. 2022 Andrew J. Tobias, cleveland, 25 July 2021 Los Angeles indie-rock lifers Surf Curse went from obscurity to scandal to a major-label deal in 10 months, thanks to TikTok. Los Angeles Times, 21 July 2021 Quipping about the status of a business that Volkswagen is positioning as more environmentally friendly also could irk investors, especially in light of the 2015 diesel emissions scandal the company has been trying to put behind it. Clare Duffy, CNN, 31 Mar. 2021 Social scientists predicted the Cambridge Analytica scandal way back in 2007. Felix Salmon, WIRED, 3 Apr. 2018 See More
Noun
For the first time since the FBI confiscated purported Jean-Michel Basquiat artwork from the Orlando Museum of Art in June, the venerable institution’s leader has publicly apologized for the systemic failures that led to the scandal. Matthew J. Palm, Orlando Sentinel, 16 Sep. 2022 There’s no indication that the lawyers helping the PUCO have ties to the scandal. Jeremy Pelzer, cleveland, 15 Sep. 2022 And scores of officials in Brazil and across Latin America were implicated in the Oderbrecht scandal, in which the Brazilian construction giant allegedly paid hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes. Paulina Villegas, Washington Post, 13 Sep. 2022 The bank has been working to contain the fallout from a sales-practice scandal, in which it was found to have created perhaps millions of fake bank accounts. Ben Eisen, WSJ, 12 Sep. 2022 That 1919 World Series resulted in what DePorter and many others consider the biggest scandal in the history of sports, known as the Black Sox Scandal. Rick Kogan, Chicago Tribune, 9 Sep. 2022 Trump, meanwhile, heads to Wilkes-Barre, Pa. (where Biden just happened to be earlier in the week) for his own rally on Saturday, as the former president has once again been caught up in scandal, controversy and investigation. Ben Kamisar, NBC News, 2 Sep. 2022 Then there’s this year’s Galaxy S22 performance scandal. Chris Smith, BGR, 2 Sep. 2022 The past year has been ferociously contentious in Morrow County politics, with residents and officials in the small community sparring with one another over the nitrates scandal, school funding, emergency services and county staffing. Mike Rogoway, oregonlive, 2 Sep. 2022 Verb
Ohio Democrats meanwhile have struggled in the past to tie Republicans to scandal. Andrew J. Tobias, cleveland, 25 July 2021 Los Angeles indie-rock lifers Surf Curse went from obscurity to scandal to a major-label deal in 10 months, thanks to TikTok. Los Angeles Times, 21 July 2021 Quipping about the status of a business that Volkswagen is positioning as more environmentally friendly also could irk investors, especially in light of the 2015 diesel emissions scandal the company has been trying to put behind it. Clare Duffy, CNN, 31 Mar. 2021 Social scientists predicted the Cambridge Analytica scandal way back in 2007. Felix Salmon, WIRED, 3 Apr. 2018 See More Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English, from Late Latin scandalum stumbling block, offense, from Greek skandalon trap, stumbling block, offense; akin to Latin scandere to climb
First Known Use
Noun
13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 5a
Verb
1592, in the meaning defined at sense 2
Phrases Containing scandal
Kids Definition
scandal
noun
scan·dal ˈskan-dəl
1
: something that angers or shocks people because rules or standards of behavior are violated
2
: talk that injures a person's good name
scandal
noun
as in disgrace
a cause of shame a scandal that for many years haunted the family of the banker convicted of embezzlement Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- disgrace
- reflection
- stain
- dishonor
- opprobrium
- taint
- stigma
- reproach
- blot
- slur
- brand
- smirch
- spot
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- credit
- honor
- glory
- treasure
- pride
- jewel
- boast
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of scandal are crime, offense, sin, and vice. While all these words mean "a transgression of law," scandal applies to an offense that outrages the public conscience.
a career ruined by a sex scandal
The words crime and scandal can be used in similar contexts, but crime implies a serious offense punishable by the law of the state.
the crime of murder
While in some cases nearly identical to scandal, offense applies to the infraction of any law, rule, or code.
at that school no offense went unpunished
Although the words sin and scandal have much in common, sin implies an offense against moral or religious law.
the sin of blasphemy
The synonyms vice and scandal are sometimes interchangeable, but vice applies to a habit or practice that degrades or corrupts.
regarded gambling as a vice
- out of wedlock
- out of whack
- out of whole cloth
- out of work
- out on a limb
- out on one's ear
- out sick
- out sister
- out the wazoo
- out the window
- out the ying-yang
- out to
- out to lunch
- out to sea
- out tray
- out West
- out with it
- out-and-out
- out-and-outer
- out-box
- out-clearing
- out-college
- out-country
- out-front
- out-group