variants
or scallywag
as in brute
a mean, evil, or unprincipled person
a scalawag who had taken to begging on street corners while posing as a blind person
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of scalawag
Among the most memorable was the Oyster Wars, a series of clashes dating back to the 1830s with scalawags descending from all over, looking to cash in on the valuable bivalves.
—
Baltimore Sun Editorial Board, Baltimore Sun, 2 July 2024
The large cast, costumed and made up as a fitly scalawags and sinister buccaneers, gives tremendous energy to every scene.
—Kirk Honeycutt, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 July 2023
Chadha-Patel is ambiguously charming as a scalawag not entirely out for himself.
—cleveland, 1 Dec. 2022
Baltimore Sun Editorial Board, Baltimore Sun, 2 July 2024
The large cast, costumed and made up as a fitly scalawags and sinister buccaneers, gives tremendous energy to every scene.
—Kirk Honeycutt, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 July 2023
Chadha-Patel is ambiguously charming as a scalawag not entirely out for himself.
—cleveland, 1 Dec. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scalawag
Noun
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Smith has been on the outer of the Australian team in the T20 format, his weakest format where his lack of power can get exposed in a game dotted by muscular brutes.—
Tristan Lavalette,
Forbes,
20 Jan. 2025
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Maliki is a divisive brute whom Iran supports to the hilt.—
Dov Friedman,
Foreign Affairs,
17 June 2014
Noun
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This shortcoming extends to its assortment of villains who, despite including celebrity appearances like AEW wrestler Samoa Joe, fail to leave a memorable impression beyond being yet another obstacle on the way to the end credits.—
Isaiah Colbert,
Rolling Stone,
18 Feb. 2025
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The film’s post-production was derailed by the writers and actors strikes, and a 22-day reshoot that added Giancarlo Esposito as a villain was done in that time.—
Brian Welk,
IndieWire,
14 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Often regarded by historians as a collection of savage tribes, the Scythians emerge as a pivotal force of the ancient world in this monumental history.—
The New Yorker,
The New Yorker,
30 Jan. 2023
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Nearly 32 years ago, Rodney King’s savage beating by police in Los Angeles prompted heartfelt calls for change.—
Aaron Morrison, Claudia Lauer and Adrian Sainz,
Anchorage Daily News,
29 Jan. 2023
Noun
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Now that movie’s writer-director, Leigh Whannell, has returned to bring another classic fiend into the 21st century, with Poor Things scoundrel Christopher Abbott as a family man who starts feeling a little hairy after a full-moon encounter at his childhood home.—
A.A. Dowd,
Vulture,
6 Jan. 2025
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That this once-relevant scoundrel's fall from something like grace uplifts so many is a testament to the joy to be found in seeing a cocky operator get his overdue comeuppance.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
18 Dec. 2024
Noun
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The wretch was one E. W. Perera, a pivotal figure in the Ceylonese independence movement—and someone the narrator had celebrated growing up in Sri Lanka.—
Dan Piepenbring,
Harper's Magazine,
2 Jan. 2025
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The wretch in question has cut down one of the speaker’s spruce trees without his permission.—
Casey Cep,
The New Yorker,
23 Dec. 2023
Noun
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And, of course, look for those with an axe to grind—from extremist groups to rogue states and struggling superpowers—to capitalize on the global lack of leadership to make gains.—
Maha Hosain Aziz,
Newsweek,
31 Jan. 2025
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The plan would also initiate the creation of an Economic Security Cooperation Board, a new institution with membership open to all countries except rogue states such as Iran, North Korea, Russia, and of course China.—
Eyck Freymann,
Foreign Affairs,
29 Jan. 2025
Noun
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With their heavy bodies, the rascals had ridden down the oak trees to crop the luscious acorns from the tree tips.—
Frank C. Hibben,
Outdoor Life,
13 Feb. 2025
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Till then, the always-in-hot-water antics of CIA attorney/reluctant spy Owen Hendricks (Centineo) keep us engaged and curious over how the troublemaking rascal is going to get out of another mess he’s made.—
Randy Myers,
The Mercury News,
6 Feb. 2025
Noun
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The modern health insurer is regarded as either a knave or a pawn and is seldom regarded as a knight.—
Sachin H. Jain,
Forbes,
20 Dec. 2024
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Human beings are motivated by virtue (knights) or rigid self-interest (knaves), or are passive victims of their circumstances (pawns).—
Sachin H. Jain,
Forbes,
20 Dec. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Scalawag.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scalawag. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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