If you describe a person as unscrupulous, you are critical of the fact that they are prepared to act in a dishonest or immoral way in order to get what they want.
[disapproval]
These kids are being exploited by very unscrupulous people.
...the unscrupulous use of hostages.
Synonyms: unprincipled, corrupt, crooked [informal], ruthless More Synonyms of unscrupulous
unscrupulous in British English
(ʌnˈskruːpjʊləs)
adjective
without scruples; unprincipled; unfair
Derived forms
unscrupulously (unˈscrupulously)
adverb
unscrupulousness (unˈscrupulousness) or unscrupulosity (ʌnˌskruːpjʊˈlɒsɪtɪ)
noun
unscrupulous in American English
(ʌnˈskrupjələs)
adjective
not scrupulous; not restrained by ideas of right and wrong; unprincipled
Derived forms
unscrupulously (unˈscrupulously)
adverb
unscrupulousness (unˈscrupulousness)
noun
Examples of 'unscrupulous' in a sentence
unscrupulous
Others were no doubt sold by dishonest dealers to unscrupulous buyers.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
The naive and innocent are lured away by unscrupulous agents.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
And if unscrupulous employers took advantage of that to get free labour?
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
But they are increasingly being used by unscrupulous landlords to hold tenants to ransom.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
It is likely that the thief offloaded the paintings to an unscrupulous art dealer.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The cancer of unscrupulous agents must be brought to an end.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
But the notion that unscrupulous individuals are cashing in on the fears of silly rich women is nonsensical.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
And there remain fears that unscrupulous traders can scoop up large numbers of tickets and drive up the price.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Others also fear that unscrupulous dealers will breed these animals and that it could encourage illicit trade in endangered wild animals.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
This ensures you're alert to both tricky situations and manoeuvres by unscrupulous individuals.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Despite city law on the matter, her unscrupulous landlord refused.
Christianity Today (2000)
But it seems that some unscrupulous individuals are using this as a hook to con people into buying insurance that is not valid.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
We have hundreds of thousands of women in low-paid jobs who are taken advantage of by unscrupulous employers.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
I was aware fish is sometimes replaced with cheaper varieties by unscrupulous traders.
The Sun (2014)
But it would be disastrous if the new regime came to be seen as helping the most unscrupulous employers to cheat the most vulnerable employees.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
They will also act as a new line of attack against unscrupulous landlords who rent out substandard, unsafe and overcrowded accommodation.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
As if financial independence is not enough to cope with, there is also the prospect of being done over by unscrupulous landlords.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
He is immoral, unscrupulous and greedy - end of story.
The Sun (2006)
Campaigners for tenants' rights say that the number of unscrupulous letting agents exploiting tenants and landlords with underhand tactics has risen dramatically over the past two years.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
A gallery owner displays a priceless painting, which catches the eye of various unscrupulous individuals plotting to advance their standing in the art world.
The Sun (2012)
Some unscrupulous agents may give you TWO invoices - one for your flight and another for your accommodation.
The Sun (2010)
Each new executive arrival pushes property prices up and increases the power of a growing band of cunning, unscrupulous, downright dishonest rental agents.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Similarly, the energy regulator Ofgem seemed to be the last to know that unscrupulous traders and energy suppliers fixed gas prices to meet their own ends.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
In other languages
unscrupulous
British English: unscrupulous ADJECTIVE
If someone is unscrupulous, they are prepared to act in a dishonest or immoral way in order to get what they want.
These kids are being exploited by very unscrupulous people.
American English: unscrupulous
Brazilian Portuguese: inescrupuloso
Chinese: 不道德的
European Spanish: sin escrúpulos
French: sans scrupulesN
German: skrupellos
Italian: senza scrupoli
Japanese: 非良心的な
Korean: 파렴치한
European Portuguese: inescrupuloso
Latin American Spanish: sin escrúpulos
(adjective)
Definition
prepared to act in a dishonest or immoral manner
These kids are being exploited by very unscrupulous people.
Synonyms
unprincipled
the unprincipled behaviour of the prosecutor's office
corrupt
corrupt politicians who took bribes
crooked (informal)
She might expose his crooked business deals to the authorities.
ruthless
improper
immoral
It is immoral to persist with a system that impoverishes so many people.
dishonest
He had become rich by dishonest means.
unethical
I thought it was unethical for doctors to operate upon family members.
exploitative
dishonourable
He insisted he had done nothing dishonourable.
roguish
He was a roguish thief.
unconscionable
knavish (archaic)
up to their knavish tricks again
conscienceless
unconscientious
Opposites
principled
,
moral
,
ethical
,
proper
,
upright
,
honourable
,
honest
,
scrupulous
Additional synonyms
in the sense of corrupt
Definition
open to or involving bribery or other dishonest practices
corrupt politicians who took bribes
Synonyms
dishonest,
bent (slang),
crooked (informal),
rotten,
shady (informal),
fraudulent,
unscrupulous,
unethical,
venal,
unprincipled,
bribable
in the sense of crooked
Definition
dishonest or illegal
She might expose his crooked business deals to the authorities.
Synonyms
dishonest,
criminal,
illegal,
corrupt,
dubious,
questionable,
unlawful,
shady (informal),
fraudulent,
unscrupulous,
under-the-table,
bent (slang),
shifty,
deceitful,
underhand,
unprincipled,
dishonourable,
nefarious,
knavish (archaic)
in the sense of dishonest
Definition
not honest or fair
He had become rich by dishonest means.
Synonyms
deceitful,
corrupt,
crooked (informal),
designing,
lying,
bent (slang),
false,
unfair,
cheating,
deceiving,
shady (informal),
fraudulent,
treacherous,
deceptive,
unscrupulous,
crafty,
swindling,
disreputable,
untrustworthy,
double-dealing,
unprincipled,
mendacious,
perfidious (literary),
untruthful,
guileful,
knavish (archaic)
Synonyms of 'unscrupulous'
unscrupulous
Explore 'unscrupulous' in the dictionary
Additional synonyms
in the sense of dishonourable
He insisted he had done nothing dishonourable.
Synonyms
shameful,
base,
corrupt,
infamous,
disgraceful,
treacherous,
scandalous,
unscrupulous,
shameless,
despicable,
ignominious,
disreputable,
contemptible,
untrustworthy,
unprincipled,
ignoble,
not cricket (informal),
discreditable,
blackguardly
in the sense of immoral
Definition
sexually depraved or promiscuous
It is immoral to persist with a system that impoverishes so many people.
Synonyms
wicked,
bad,
wrong,
abandoned,
evil,
corrupt,
vicious,
obscene,
indecent,
vile,
degenerate,
dishonest,
sinful,
unethical,
lewd,
depraved,
impure,
debauched,
unprincipled,
nefarious,
dissolute,
iniquitous,
reprobate
in the sense of knavish
up to their knavish tricks again
Synonyms
dishonest,
tricky,
fraudulent,
deceptive,
unscrupulous,
rascally,
scoundrelly,
deceitful,
villainous,
unprincipled,
dishonourable,
roguish
in the sense of roguish
He was a roguish thief.
Synonyms
unprincipled,
criminal,
crooked (informal),
deceiving,
shady (informal),
fraudulent,
dishonest,
unscrupulous,
swindling,
rascally,
deceitful,
villainous,
raffish,
knavish (archaic)
in the sense of unethical
Definition
morally wrong
I thought it was unethical for doctors to operate upon family members.