rascal
Americannoun
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a base, dishonest, or unscrupulous person.
- Synonyms:
- scapegrace, miscreant, villain, scamp, rapscallion
-
a mischievous person or animal.
That child is a real rascal.
noun
-
a disreputable person; villain
-
a mischievous or impish rogue
-
an affectionate or mildly reproving term for a child or old man
you little rascal
the wicked old rascal kissed her
-
obsolete a person of lowly birth
adjective
Related Words
See knave.
Other Word Forms
- rascallike adjective
Etymology
Origin of rascal
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English rascaile, raskaille, from Old French rascaille “rabble”; perhaps akin to rash 2
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Get out, you little rascal. There’s nothing in here for you to steal.”
From Literature
Right now, the rascal in him slumbers, briefly glimpsed now and again behind dark shades.
From Los Angeles Times
The years just seemed to roll right off them, and I watched transfixed as they laughed like rascals and raced each other, then swam leisurely back to the bank.
From Literature
While Shoyo is a charismatic and ambitious rascal, Karasuno High and their various opponents provide a wide and varied array of winning characters who are willing to play the long game to win your heart.
From Salon
The most notable stock-market research over the weekend comes from academia, where researchers studied those rascals in Congress and their proclivity to trade.
From MarketWatch
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
