scandal

[skan-dl] /ˈskæn dl/
noun
1.
a disgraceful or discreditable action, circumstance, etc.
2.
an offense caused by a fault or misdeed.
3.
damage to reputation; public disgrace.
4.
defamatory talk; malicious gossip.
5.
a person whose conduct brings disgrace or offense.
verb (used with object), scandaled, scandaling or (especially British) scandalled, scandalling.
6.
British Dialect. to defame (someone) by spreading scandal.
7.
Obsolete. to disgrace.
Origin
1175-1225; < Late Latin scandalum < Late Greek skándalon snare, cause of moral stumbling; replacing Middle English scandle < Old French (north) escandle < Late Latin, as above
Related forms
miniscandal, noun
superscandal, noun
Synonyms
3. discredit, dishonor, shame, disrepute, opprobrium, ignominy. 4. slander, calumny, aspersion, obloquy. See gossip.
Antonyms
4. honor, praise.
Examples from the web for scandal
  • And he wishes he'd handled the scandal with more skill.
  • Today many believe it was only a matter of time before a scandal erupted.
  • It remains to be seen whether that will be enough to distance him from a scandal that clearly has a long way yet to run.
  • Their occupants were lucky that the scandal broke before the inevitable next earthquake.
  • But the scandal increased fado's appeal, leading to the publication of its first sheet music.
  • Political scandal has come crashing into the digital age.
  • There was simply nothing there it was a manufactured scandal.
  • The ensuing scandal made her something of a pariah to the establishment.
  • Hud scandal controversy concerning low income housing money to selected contractors.
  • This resulted in a scandal that was covered in the national media.
British Dictionary definitions for scandal

scandal

/ˈskændəl/
noun
1.
a disgraceful action or event: his negligence was a scandal
2.
censure or outrage arising from an action or event
3.
a person whose conduct causes reproach or disgrace
4.
malicious talk, esp gossip about the private lives of other people
5.
(law) a libellous action or statement
verb (transitive) (obsolete)
6.
to disgrace
7.
to scandalize
Derived Forms
scandalous, adjective
scandalously, adverb
scandalousness, noun
Word Origin
C16: from Late Latin scandalum stumbling block, from Greek skandalon a trap
Word Origin and History for scandal
n.

1580s, "discredit caused by irreligious conduct," from Middle French scandale (12c.), from Late Latin scandalum "cause for offense, stumbling block, temptation," from Greek skandalon "a trap or snare laid for an enemy," in New Testament, metaphorically as "a stumbling block, offense;" originally "trap with a springing device," from PIE *skand- "to leap, climb" (see scan (v.); cf. also slander (n.), which is another form of the same word).

Attested from early 13c., but the modern word likely is a reborrowing. Meaning "malicious gossip," also "shameful action or event" is from 1590s; sense of "person whose conduct is a disgrace" is from 1630s. Scandal sheet "sensational newspaper" is from 1939. Scandal-monger is from 1702.