Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Shocking and morally offensive: Describes actions, behavior, or situations that are considered deeply immoral, disgraceful, or outrageous, causing public anger or damage to someone's reputation.
   • Containing defamatory statements: In legal contexts, describes speech or writing that is libelous or slanderous.

Usage

The word "scandalous" is used to express strong moral condemnation. It emphasizes that something is not just bad, but shockingly so, often violating accepted standards of decency and causing public outrage. It can describe both concrete actions and abstract situations.

Examples

• Adjective:
  • The newspaper published scandalous details about the politician's private life.
  • It is scandalous that such poverty exists in a wealthy nation.
  • The company's scandalous waste of public funds led to a government inquiry.
  • She was accused of spreading scandalous rumors about her colleagues.

Advanced Usage

• "scandalous state of affairs": Used to describe a situation that is shockingly bad or unjust.
  • The lack of clean water in the city is a scandalous state of affairs.
• "nothing short of scandalous": An emphatic phrase meaning "completely scandalous."
  • The treatment of the workers was nothing short of scandalous.

Variants and Related Words

• Scandal (n): An action or event that causes public outrage or disgrace.
  • The financial scandal forced the CEO to resign.
• Scandalize (v): To shock or horrify someone by acting in a scandalous way.
  • His behavior at the formal dinner scandalized the other guests.

Synonyms

• Outrageous: Shockingly bad or excessive.
• Disgraceful: Deserving strong disapproval; shameful.
• Shameful: Causing shame; disgraceful.
• Appalling: Causing shock or dismay; horrific.

Antonyms

• Commendable: Deserving praise.
• Proper: Conforming to accepted standards; respectable.
• Exemplary: Serving as a desirable model; very good.

Idioms and Phrases

• A scandalous waste: An extreme and shocking waste of resources.
  • Leaving the lights on all night is a scandalous waste of electricity.

Adjective

1. giving offense to moral sensibilities and injurious to reputation
   • scandalous behavior
   • the wicked rascally shameful conduct of the bankrupt- Thackeray
   • the most shocking book of its time