Definition

Noun: 1. The quality or state of being scandalous; disgracefulness that offends public morality or decency. It refers to the shocking, offensive, or morally outrageous nature of an action, event, or piece of information. 2. (Law) The quality of being defamatory or libelous. It refers to the capacity of a statement to harm someone's reputation by being maliciously false and shocking.

Usage

• Scandalousness is an abstract noun used to describe the inherent quality of something that causes public outrage, shock, or disgrace.
• It is often used in formal, journalistic, or legal contexts to discuss the moral or ethical severity of an act.
• It can be modified by adjectives like "sheer," "utter," "appalling," or "alleged."

Examples

• The scandalousness of the corruption allegations led to a public inquiry.
• The report focused not just on the crime, but on the scandalousness of the cover-up that followed.
• The lawyer argued that the article's scandalousness damaged her client's reputation beyond repair.

Advanced Usage

• "The sheer scandalousness of the affair...": This phrase is used to emphasize the extreme and shocking nature of an event.
• "A degree of scandalousness": Used to indicate a level or measure of how shocking something is perceived to be.

Variants and Related Words

• Scandalous (adj.): Describing something that causes scandal; shockingly wrong or immoral.
  • The minister's scandalous behavior was front-page news.
• Scandal (n.): An action or event that causes public outrage or disgrace.
  • The financial scandal brought down the government.
• Scandalize (v.): To shock or horrify someone by acting in a scandalous way.
  • His remarks scandalized the entire community.

Synonyms

• Outrageousness: The quality of being shockingly bad or excessive.
• Disgracefulness: The quality of bringing shame or discredit.
• Notoriety: The state of being famous for something bad.
• Impropriety: Failure to observe standards of honesty or modesty; inappropriate behavior.

Antonyms

• Decency: Behavior that conforms to accepted standards of morality.
• Propriety: The state of conforming to conventionally accepted standards of behavior.
• Respectability: The quality of being socially acceptable.

Noun

1. disgracefulness that offends public morality