SCUMBAGS Synonyms: 113 Similar and Opposite Words

scumbags

noun

plural of scumbag, slang

as in bastards

a person whose behavior is offensive to others don't romanticize that con artist, as she's nothing more than a scumbag who cheats the most vulnerable

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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 scumbags Michigan fans now get to live with that era of show cause penalties, and scumbags being run out of college football. — Joe Kinsey Outkick, FOXNews.com, 9 Oct. 2026 Matt Lucas and Marina Prior’s Thénardiers are boisterous and charming — more amiable sleazes than menacing scumbags, if that tracks. — Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 30 July 2026 Ninety-nine percent of politicians are scumbags. — Tony Dokoupil, CBS News, 16 Nov. 2025 Once the province of bikers and sailors and scumbags, tattoos now appear on nearly one-third of all Americans. — John Semley, The Atlantic, 22 Sep. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for scumbags

Noun

Lee and his Burning co-writer Oh Jung-mi resist what might have been the first instinct of many filmmakers by refusing to make Ye-ji and Sang-woo overly patronizing rich jerks.

— David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 6 Sep. 2026
The Ars OpenForum is a place for readers to ask questions, compare notes, argue (without being jerks to each other), and go down all sorts of rabbit holes.

— Eric Bangeman, ArsTechnica, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of jerks

Noun

Many Orlando-area homes feature skeletons that tower over the neighborhood, witchy covens, horror movie icons, clowns, pirate ships, pumpkins, zombies and vampires.

— Patrick Connolly, The Orlando Sentinel, 22 Oct. 2026
Friday, Edith, and the maintenance bots are sometimes goofy comic-relief clowns.

— Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of clowns

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scumbag

scumbags

scummy

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“Scumbags.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scumbags. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of scumbags

noun

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