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scandal

scandal

95 3.0
Gossip about people's private lives that embarrasses them
  • noun
  • /ˈskændl/
  • Literature
translation icon : chisme
  • The politician faced a major scandal after it was revealed that he had lied about his finances.
  • gossip and scandal
  • created a scandal
  • a public scandal

This is one month before George Floyd was killed and before my Twitter scandal.

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Examples

  • Among the stories that sell best are ones focusing on scandal and conflict.

    Academic text (2000)
  • I sent you in there to prevent a scandal, not start one.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Quite the scandal, so I'm told.

  • We do not often speak of it, but it continues to be a scandal that troubles us.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • Kay felt that divorce was impossible: it would cause scandal and harm the children.

    Academic text (1996)
  • The average person is likely to be drawn in with the promise of scandal and intrigue.

    Academic text (1997)
  • There is no scandal, no corruption, no organised crime in the tomb builders' village.

  • The penny press of the mid-1800s covered crime and scandal to increase readership.

    Academic text (2000)
  • Only events such as major public scandals lead to long-term changes in evaluations.

    Academic text (1995)
  • The recent celebrity scandal shocked the entire nation and led to widespread criticism.

Synonyms

talk
vsscandal
  • Informal
868 3.2

Informal conversation about other people that may not be true

is specifically disgraceful private speech that causes public outrage
dirt
vsscandal
  • Informal
135 4.8

Secret information that harms someone's reputation

is the wider disgrace or public embarrassment that follows such leaks
gossiping
vsscandal
  • Informal
7 1.7

Talking about other people's personal lives in a casual way

is more serious involving disgrace and public embarrassment from those talks
latest gossip
vsscandal
  • Informal
1 1.9

The most recent private news or rumors about people

is about shameful private talk that angers the public
malicious gossip
vsscandal
1 7.3

Rumours that try to hurt someone's reputation by spreading private facts

is broader denoting disgraceful talk that sparks public shame
scandalmongering
vsscandal
9.3

Spreading harmful gossip to hurt people or cause drama

focuses on disgrace and public outrage these stories cause
gossipmongering
vsscandal
8.7

Spreading private stories about others to harm or entertain people

is the public disgrace those rumors provoke rather than the act

Antonyms

honor
  • US
2.2

Respect given to a person for good moral behavior

161 1.0

Words or actions that show admiration for someone

Compounds

A 1970s US political event where leaders broke the law and the president resigned

A large United States political corruption case in the early 1920s where government officials secretly leased oil land to companies

celebrity scandal
  • Literature
1 3.4

A public event where a famous person does something shocking that many people talk about

robo-debt scandal
  • Australian
6.8

Public controversy in Australia about a computer system that wrongly said people owed welfare money

How Scandalous

exposé
  • Literature
26 7.3
scandal
  • Literature
95 3.0
rumor
  • US
853 1.2
to gossip
  • Informal
27 1.3
tittle-tattle
  • Archaic
8.4

Surface Forms

scandal singular
scandals plural

Etymology

The word scandal comes from the old Greek word skandalon, which meant 'trap' or 'stumbling block'. So a scandal often means shameful gossip or secret news that makes someone 'stumble' in public and lose respect.