SCALAWAGS Synonyms: 78 Similar and Opposite Words

scalawags

noun

variants or scallywags

plural of scalawag

as in villains

a mean, evil, or unprincipled person a scalawag who had taken to begging on street corners while posing as a blind person

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of scalawags Ticketed experiences include a cannon battle aboard a tall ship, tours of the tall ships in port, a mermaid meet-and-greet and swim show, pirate school for scallywags and more. — Marla Jo Fisher, Oc Register, 8 Sep. 2025 But what the New Yorker writer left behind is some of the finest prose of the 20th century, focusing primarily on the eccentrics, scalawags, seamen, and other denizens of New York’s dank corners. — Air Mail, 2 May 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for scalawags

Noun

After all, the best myths take our normal heroes-and-villains binary and punt it into a million pieces.

— AJ Willingham, AJC.com, 6 July 2026
Maybe America was too busy wrestling with its own history of siding with the most despicable villains around?

— Bethy Squires, Vulture, 5 July 2026

Definition of villains

Noun

These brutes commonly exceed 50 pounds.

— Keith Sutton, Outdoor Life, 18 June 2026
In Raspail’s tale, hordes of impoverished and dark-skinned brutes from India descend onto French shores by way of rafts, the first wave of an invasion of the civilized West by the brown-skinned developing world.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 8 Apr. 2026

Definition of brutes

Noun

Supporters will argue that criminals should not be able to hide behind wallets.

— Susie Violet Ward, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026
And just like Alito, some members of my family have forgotten our history and support Trump or favor some of his immigration policies, dismissing new arrivals as criminals or lazy.

— Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026

Definition of criminals

Noun

The 152 rooms celebrate Tasmania’s cultural and creative spirit, from the contemporary paintings of thylacines and Tasmanian devils, to the Blackheart sassafras ceiling inlays.

— Riley Wilson, Travel + Leisure, 19 June 2026
But there are lots of potential devils in the details (otherwise there’d be little need for experimental reactors).

— ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 9 June 2026

Definition of devils

Noun

Independence Day celebrations come in the most challenging threat environment since 9/11, with the ongoing terror threat, a rise in political violence and continuing fears about lone-wolf offenders, according to Raia.

— Luke Barr, ABC News, 3 July 2026
There were also concerns listed in the analysis that the registry, which dates back to 1947, could include LGBTQ+ offenders from decades ago who were convicted of offenses that are no longer crimes.

— Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2026

Definition of offenders

Noun

Alas, a win feels pretty far away as of the season four finale, in which Sophia removes the only protection the town has against the monsters.

— Josh Wigler, HollywoodReporter, 6 July 2026
In Homer’s Odyssey, the Greek hero Odysseus must overcome tempests, temptations, mythical monsters, and divine wrath to sail home to the island of Ithaca after the Trojan War.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 6 July 2026

Definition of monsters

Noun

New Orleans has long been notorious for embracing such scoundrels, a reputation that isn’t exactly helped by the fact that, for many years, disgraced attorneys who lost their licenses in Louisiana and applied for readmission to the bar often got it.

— Patrick Radden Keefe, New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2026
Political leaders who encourage or tolerate such scoundrels should be driven from office.

— Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, 23 Feb. 2026

Definition of scoundrels

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“Scalawags.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scalawags. Accessed 9 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of scalawags

noun

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