scandal

B2 Topic:Emotions & Feelings

US /ˈskændəl/ See IPA manual

Freq #4524

Meanings

1

noun
An event that shocks people and damages the reputation of those involved.

The corruption scandal forced the minister to resign.
2

noun
Talk that spreads damaging or shameful claims about people's private lives.

The magazine is full of celebrity scandal.
3

noun
A feeling of shock and anger at something seen as wrong or improper.

It is a scandal that so many children go hungry.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · an event that shocks people... outrage

2 noun · talk that spreads damaging... dirt gossip

Word family

Forms scandals

Derived forms nonscandalpostscandalprescandalscandal-plaguedscandal-riddenscandalettescandalisescandalismscandalizescandalmongerscandalousscandalproof

Etymology

From Middle French scandale (“indignation caused by misconduct or defamatory speech”), from Ecclesiastical Latin scandalum (“that on which one trips, cause of offense”, literally “stumbling block”), from Ancient Greek σκάνδαλον (skándalon, “a trap laid for an enemy, a cause of moral stumbling”), from Proto-Indo-European *skand- (“to jump”). Cognate with Latin scandō (“to climb”). First attested from Old Northern French escandle, but the modern word is a reborrowing. Doublet, via Old French esclandre, of slander. Sense evolution from "cause of stumbling, that which causes one to sin, stumbling…

scandale Middle French scandalum la-ecc σκάνδαλον Ancient Greek *skand- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Emotions & Feelings Ethics & Social Judgment

External links

# scandal

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈskændəl/
**Frequency rank:** 4524

## Meanings
1. An event that shocks people and damages the reputation of those involved.
2. Talk that spreads damaging or shameful claims about people's private lives.
3. A feeling of shock and anger at something seen as wrong or improper.

## Examples
- The corruption scandal forced the minister to resign.
- The magazine is full of celebrity scandal.
- It is a scandal that so many children go hungry.

## Derived Forms
- nonscandal
- postscandal
- prescandal
- scandal-plagued
- scandal-ridden
- scandalette
- scandalise
- scandalism
- scandalize
- scandalmonger
- scandalous
- scandalproof

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: scandale
- Root: scandalum
- Root: σκάνδαλον
- Root: *skand-

## Etymology
From Middle French scandale (“indignation caused by misconduct or defamatory speech”), from Ecclesiastical Latin scandalum (“that on which one trips, cause of offense”, literally “stumbling block”), from Ancient Greek σκάνδαλον (skándalon, “a trap laid for an enemy, a cause of moral stumbling”), from Proto-Indo-European *skand- (“to jump”). Cognate with Latin scandō (“to climb”). First attested from Old Northern French escandle, but the modern word is a reborrowing. Doublet, via Old French esclandre, of slander. Sense evolution from "cause of stumbling, that which causes one to sin, stumbling…

## AI Etymology
Scandal comes from Middle French scandale (“indignation caused by misconduct or defamatory speech”), from Ecclesiastical Latin scandalum (“that on which one trips, cause of offense”, literally “stumbling block”), from Ancient Greek σκάνδαλον (skándalon, “a trap laid for an enemy, a cause of moral stumbling”), from Proto-Indo-European *skand- (“to jump”). Cognate with Latin scandō (“to climb”). First attested from Old Northern French escandle, but the modern word is a reborrowing. Doublet, via Old French esclandre, of slander. Modern senses include an event that shocks people and damages the reputation of those involved. and talk that spreads damaging or shameful claims about people's private lives.. The wider word family includes derivatives such as nonscandal, postscandal, prescandal, scandal-plagued, scandal-ridden, and scandalette.

## Topics
- Emotions & Feelings
- Ethics & Social Judgment

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scandal

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