Scandal Definition

skăndl

scandal, scandalled, scandalling, scandals

noun

scandals

Unseemly conduct of a religious person that discredits religion or causes moral lapse in another.

Webster's New World

Any act, person, or thing that offends or shocks moral feelings of the community and leads to disgrace.

Webster's New World

A reaction of shame, disgrace, outrage, etc. caused by such an act, person, or thing.

Webster's New World

Damage to reputation or character caused by public disclosure of immoral or grossly improper behavior; disgrace.

American Heritage

Ignominy; disgrace.

Webster's New World

Synonyms:

Antonyms:

verb

scandal

To slander.

Webster's New World

To disgrace.

Webster's New World

(obsolete) To scandalize; to offend.

Wiktionary

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster's Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.

Wiktionary

Other Word Forms of Scandal

Noun

Singular:

scandal

Plural:

scandals

Origin of Scandal

From Middle French scandale (“indignation caused by misconduct or defamatory speech"), from Ecclesiastical Latin scandalum (“that on which one trips, cause of offense", literally “stumbling block"), from Ancient Greek σκάνδαλον (skándalon, “a trap laid for an enemy, a cause of moral stumbling"), from Proto-Indo-European *skand- (“to jump"). Cognate with Latin scandō (“to climb"). First attested from Old Northern French escandle, but the modern word is a reborrowing. Sense evolution from "cause of stumbling, that which causes one to sin, stumbling block" to "discredit to reputation, that which brings shame, thing of disgrace" possibly due to early influence from other similar :sounding words for infamy and disgrace (compare Old English scand (“ignominity, scandal, disgraceful thing"), Old High German scanda (“ignominy, disgrace"), Gothic [script?] (skanda, “shame, disgrace")). See shand, shend.

From Wiktionary
French scandale from Old French cause of sin from Latin scandalum trap, stumbling block, temptation from Greek skandalon skand- in Indo-European roots

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition