rascal
noun
Synonyms
- baddie
- baddy
- beast
- brute
- caitiff
- devil
- evildoer
- fiend
- heavy
- hound
- knave
- meanie
- meany
- miscreant
- monster
- nazi
- no-good
- rapscallion
- reprobate
- rogue
- savage
- scalawag
- scallywag
- scamp
- scapegrace
- scoundrel
- varlet
- villain
- wretch
Example Sentences
Simon Constable, Time, 8 Apr. 2022 The consummate newswoman, but a rascal with a sense of humor. Angelique Jackson, Variety, 3 Mar. 2022 Bruno Dumont knows there’s more than one way to skin a media rascal. Armond White, National Review, 5 Jan. 2022 Edwards tried to tell the groundskeepers and gameday staffers how to defend the rascal. Greg Moore, The Arizona Republic, 8 Nov. 2021 Still at home, though, is William and Kate Middleton's youngest, Prince Louis—who also happens to be a bit of a Zoom rascal. Chloe Foussianes, Town & Country, 11 Sep. 2020 Though a severe and exacting scholar, Trevor-Roper was attracted to clever rascals, especially those whose antics played upon the endless credulity of the human mind and the gullibility of bureaucratic institutions. Michael Dirda, Washington Post, 26 Feb. 2020 Sonic is every inch the peppy, computerized rascal he's supposed to be, sporting oversize eyes and lacking rows of realistic human teeth. Frank Pallotta, CNN, 14 Feb. 2020 Oregon is chock-a-block with its own cast of rogues and rascals who stumble into strange situations or wind up on the wrong side of the law. oregonlive, 26 Dec. 2019 See More Word History
Middle English rascaile, rascaille, borrowed from Anglo-French rascaille, rascail "rabble," from rasc- (perhaps from Old French —Norman and Picard— *rasquer "to scratch, scrape," going back to Vulgar Latin *rāsicāre) + -aille, collective suffix, going back to Latin -ālia — more at rash entry 1, -al entry 2
Note: Though this etymology works semantically (cf., for example, the sense development of English scum, Russian svoloč'), it is unclear if *rasquer is a possible outcome of *rāsicāre in Norman/Picard. Note that the word is exclusively Anglo-Norman in earlier Medieval French (from the twelfth century), from which it appears to have penetrated into other dialects (see Französisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, vol. 10, pp. 88-89).
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Kids Definition
rascal
noun
rascal
noun
Synonyms & Similar Words
- villain
- brute
- scoundrel
- criminal
- devil
- monster
- savage
- knave
- wretch
- scamp
- bandit
- offender
- scapegrace
- rapscallion
- scalawag
- beast
- miscreant
- reprobate
- nazi
- rogue
- thug
- varlet
- scallywag
- caitiff
- gangster
- assassin
- crook
- hound
- meanie
- fiend
- baddie
- evildoer
- heavy
- baddy
- blackguard
- meany
- no-good
- snake
- felon
- loser
- perpetrator
- ruffian
- desperado
- sinner
- cad
- trespasser
- lawbreaker
- hoodlum
- jailbird
- hooligan
- culprit
- villainess
- malefactor
- perp
- serpent
- transgressor
- outlaw
- viper
- racketeer
- heel
- wrongdoer
- con
- lowlife
- rough
- rowdy
- convict
- goon
- tough
- bravo
- cutthroat
- stinker
- gunman
- trash
- ne'er-do-well
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- innocent
- hero
- saint
- angel
Synonyms & Similar Words
- monkey
- devil
- scamp
- rapscallion
- rogue
- brat
- mischief
- urchin
- imp
- hellion
- ragamuffin
- madcap
- cutup
- nuisance
- larker
- juvenile delinquent
- gamin
- disrupter
- gamine
- skylarker
- misbehaver
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- clown
- snake
- skunk
- lout
- beast
- cur
- boor
- heel
- louse
- cad
- creep
- cretin
- scoundrel
- joker
- churl
- stinker
- knave
- villain
- miscreant
- scapegrace
- scalawag
- varlet
- stinkard
- scallywag
- reprobate