scandalnoun
uk/ˈskæn.dəl/us/ˈskæn.dəl/B2 [ C or U ] (an action or event that causes) a public feeling of shock and strong moral disapproval:
a financial/political/sex scandal
Their affair caused/created a scandal in the office.
The scandal broke (= became public knowledge) right at the beginning of the Conservative Party Conference.
If there is the slightest suggestion/hint of scandal, the public will no longer trust us.
[ U ] reports about actions or events that cause shock and disapproval:
Some magazines contain nothing but scandal and gossip.
to spread scandal
[ S ] a situation that is extremely bad:
[ + (that) ] It's a scandal (that) children are treated in this way.
More examples
- It was a political scandal which damaged a lot of reputations.
- This latest scandal has raised doubts about his suitability for the post.
- This latest episode in the fraud scandal has shocked a lot of people.
- So could this scandal bring down the government?
- A drugs scandal could end her career overnight.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Morally wrong and evil
- abhorrent
- amoral
- anomie
- arch-villain
- be rotten to the core idiom
- canker
- darkly
- evil
- evildoer
- go to the bad idiom
- godless
- hanky-panky
- heinous
- immoral
- seamy
- seedy
- shocking
- shockingly
- sinful
- wickedness
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