bastard

1 of 2

noun

bas·​tard ˈba-stərd 

plural bastards

1

usually offensive : a child born to parents who are not married to each other

Note: This sense of bastard has not always been offensive. In fact, it was a relatively neutral term until as recently as the late 20th century, when it began to take on its offensive status. This shift coincided with a positive change in societal attitudes towards unmarried parents and a lessening of the social stigma of having children outside of marriage. The word bastard is still used relatively neutrally in historical references and historical fiction, but is usually considered offensive when used in present-day contexts to describe a child born to parents not married to each other.

2

: something that is spurious (see spurious sense 3a), irregular, inferior, or of questionable origin

The … residence is a bastard of the architectural era which followed the building of the Imperial Hotel …

—Hugh Byas

3

a

: an offensive or disagreeable person

—used as a generalized term of abuse

Then they made him an officer and right away he became the biggest bastard you ever saw.

—Thomas Heggen

b

: man, fellow

… the nicest thing an Aussie can call you is a bloody fine bastard.

—Wilson Hicks

bastardly adjective

bastard

2 of 2

adjective

1

usually offensive : born to parents who are not married to each other

Note: This sense of bastard has not always been offensive. In fact, it was a relatively neutral term until as recently as the late 20th century, when it began to take on its offensive status. This shift coincided with a positive change in societal attitudes towards unmarried parents and a lessening of the social stigma of having children outside of marriage. The word bastard is still used relatively neutrally in historical references and historical fiction, but is usually considered offensive when used in present-day contexts to describe a child born to parents not married to each other.

2

: of mixed or ill-conceived origin

known for coining bastard words

3

: of abnormal shape or irregular size

… bastard sizes of doors and windows …

—R. E. Flanders

4

: of a kind similar to but inferior to or less typical than some standard

bastard marble

5

: lacking genuineness or authority : false

… the indiscriminate use of Greek letters by bastard groups not connected with the higher learning.

—Charles W. Ferguson

Synonyms

Noun

• beast
• bleeder [British]
• blighter [chiefly British]
• boor
• bounder
• bugger
• buzzard
• cad
• chuff
• churl
• clown
• creep
• cretin
• crud [slang]
• crumb [slang]
• cur
• dirtbag [slang]
• dog
• fink
• heel
• hound
• jerk
• joker
• louse
• lout
• pill
• rat
• rat fink
• reptile
• rotter
• schmuck [slang]
• scum
• scumbag [slang]
• scuzzball [slang]
• skunk
• sleaze
• sleazebag [slang]
• sleazeball [slang]
• slime
• slimeball [slang]
• slob
• snake
• so-and-so
• sod [chiefly British]
• stinkard
• stinker
• swine
• toad
• varmint
• vermin

Adjective

• bad
• bush
• bush-league
• crummy
• crumby
• deficient
• dissatisfactory
• ill
• inferior
• lame
• lousy
• off
• paltry
• poor
• punk
• sour
• suboptimal
• subpar
• substandard
• unacceptable
• unsatisfactory
• wack [slang]
• wanting
• wretched
• wrong

Examples of bastard in a Sentence

Noun

Congratulations on getting the job, you lucky bastard!

His wife left him, the poor bastard.

Life can be a real bastard sometimes.

Adjective

Alexander Hamilton appears to have been bothered by the fact that he was a bastard child.

a bastard knockoff of a far superior thriller

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Anglo-French, probably of Germanic origin; akin to Old Frisian bost marriage, Old English bindan to bind

Adjective

Middle English, from attributive use of bastard bastard entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 4

Kids Definition

bastard

noun

bas·​tard

ˈbas-tərd

: a child born to parents who are not married to each other

bastard adjective

Legal Definition

bastard

noun

bas·​tard ˈbas-tərd 

: an illegitimate child

Note: The word bastard is no longer used in legal contexts.

bastardy

ˈbas-tər-dē 

noun