scoundrel C2+ Topic:People & Society US /ˈskaʊndrəl/ UK /ˈskaʊndrəl/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 noun a dishonest or unprincipled person; a villain The landlord was a scoundrel who cheated his tenants at every turn. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · a dishonest or unprincipled... villainroguerascalknaveblackguardmiscreantcad ↔ Opposites herosaintgentleman Word family Derived forms scoundrellyscoundrelism Etymology AI details Of uncertain origin, recorded from the late 16th century; perhaps connected to Middle English scomfit or to a dialectal word meaning 'to run off, hide', but no derivation is established. Topics People & Society External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # scoundrel **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ˈskaʊndrəl/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈskaʊndrəl/ ## Meanings 1. a dishonest or unprincipled person; a villain ## Examples - The landlord was a scoundrel who cheated his tenants at every turn. ## Synonyms - villain - rogue - rascal - knave - blackguard - miscreant - cad ## Antonyms - hero - saint - gentleman ## Derived Forms - scoundrelly - scoundrelism ## Etymology Of uncertain origin, recorded from the late 16th century; perhaps connected to Middle English scomfit or to a dialectal word meaning 'to run off, hide', but no derivation is established. ## AI Etymology Scoundrel is of uncertain origin, recorded from the late 16th century; perhaps connected to Middle English scomfit or to a dialectal word meaning 'to run off, hide', but no derivation is established. Older glosses in the chain include "to run off, hide", which help explain the semantic range of the modern word. Morphologically, scoundrel is best read as uncertain formation, yielding an English noun shaped by both form history and later usage. In current English it functions as a noun, with the sense "a dishonest or unprincipled person; a villain". English derivatives include scoundrelly and scoundrelism. The result is an English noun whose etymology preserves the older forms while supporting the word's specialized modern meaning. ## Topics - People & Society markdown