1
as in villain
a mean, evil, or unprincipled person
the city's run-down waterfront was occupied mostly by disreputable places frequented by drunkards and rapscallions
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in monkey
an appealingly mischievous person
that little rapscallion kept hiding my shoes and making me go look for them
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Recent Examples of rapscallion
Imagine how Lowell’s most fun, most ferocious rock ‘n’ roll rapscallions will do Sabbath during their tribute set May 2 at the Smokehouse Tavern.
—
Jed Gottlieb, Boston Herald, 26 Apr. 2026
Twin brothers, these rapscallions can be told apart by Boris’s kinked tail and the colors of their collars.
—Literary Hub, 10 Apr. 2026
Wade now will join the renegade row of coaches at LSU, which also employs football rapscallion Lane Kiffin and women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey.
—Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 27 Mar. 2026
Snoop Dogg, the rap rapscallion who puts the OG in Olympic Games, plopped down on a couch in the NBC green room and muted the TV.
—Los Angeles Times, 21 Feb. 2026
Gods of Egypt is actually told from the point of view of a young rapscallion named Bek, played by Brenton Thwaites.
—Jordan Hoffman, EW.com, 12 Aug. 2025
Actual: When two rapscallion owners work together to stack a team with their best players, usually when one of the rat-bastards has been eliminated from the playoffs.
—Bill Reinhard, New York Daily News, 3 Aug. 2025
Korda has declared that, because his nine sons are, frankly, nincompoops and rapscallions, Liesl will be the sole heir to his fortune.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 24 May 2025
At the train station where Delta Slim performs, the rapscallion Stack reunites, uneasily, with old flame Mary (Hailee Steinfeld), who has been waiting a little too long for the charming dog who ditched her.
—Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune, 15 Apr. 2025
Jed Gottlieb, Boston Herald, 26 Apr. 2026
Twin brothers, these rapscallions can be told apart by Boris’s kinked tail and the colors of their collars.
—Literary Hub, 10 Apr. 2026
Wade now will join the renegade row of coaches at LSU, which also employs football rapscallion Lane Kiffin and women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey.
—Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 27 Mar. 2026
Snoop Dogg, the rap rapscallion who puts the OG in Olympic Games, plopped down on a couch in the NBC green room and muted the TV.
—Los Angeles Times, 21 Feb. 2026
Gods of Egypt is actually told from the point of view of a young rapscallion named Bek, played by Brenton Thwaites.
—Jordan Hoffman, EW.com, 12 Aug. 2025
Actual: When two rapscallion owners work together to stack a team with their best players, usually when one of the rat-bastards has been eliminated from the playoffs.
—Bill Reinhard, New York Daily News, 3 Aug. 2025
Korda has declared that, because his nine sons are, frankly, nincompoops and rapscallions, Liesl will be the sole heir to his fortune.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 24 May 2025
At the train station where Delta Slim performs, the rapscallion Stack reunites, uneasily, with old flame Mary (Hailee Steinfeld), who has been waiting a little too long for the charming dog who ditched her.
—Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune, 15 Apr. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rapscallion
Noun
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Similarly, Sage’s (Susan Heyward) reverse heel turn and Ashley’s (Colby Minifie) life-saving assistance in the West Wing are apparently good enough deeds to spare these savory villains a more commensurate sentence.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
20 May 2026
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John Boyega's ex-Stormtrooper Finn and Han are brothers from another mother, Oscar Isaac's pilot Poe is as cool and refreshing as a tall glass of blue milk, and Adam Driver's Kylo does his best Vader impression as a maniacal villain with some serious emotional issues.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
20 May 2026
Noun
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Barker combines the monkey’s paw and Pygmalion myths in this story of a young man who wishes that his dream girl would fall in love with him.—
Katie Walsh,
Twin Cities,
23 May 2026
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But monkeys typing every day will eventually produce Shakespeare and stans needing attention every day will eventually arrive at face eating.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
20 May 2026
Noun
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Even the consumer-level codes that encrypt your online banking are so hard to break that every computer on the planet working together would need longer than the age of the universe to brute-force them apart.—
David M. Ewalt,
Scientific American,
19 May 2026
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Oscillating between a bumbling brute and an ironic ignoramus, Marvel Studios sees the God of Thunder more like the God of Blunder, kicking out the knees of the steady 2011 film in favour of single-digit IQ humour.—
Sergio Pereira,
Space.com,
6 May 2026
Noun
-
Angels and devils working together to stop Armageddon.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
15 May 2026
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This is the aforementioned devil’s chair.—
Jaclyn Cosgrove,
Los Angeles Times,
7 May 2026
Noun
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But on a night when Carson Benge was robbed of extra bases twice and Luis Torrens once, his monster mash was especially impressive.—
Abbey Mastracco,
New York Daily News,
23 May 2026
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Thus Director Park will likely be mulling over the sprawling monster sci-fi Hope, by his countryman Na Hong-Jin, and possibly Léa Mysius’s thriller-romp The Birthday Party, which contains a lot of Park’s trademark black humor.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
23 May 2026
Noun
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My mother was a total gem but also a bit of a rascal.—
Catherine Pearson,
New York Times,
8 May 2026
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Right now, the rascal in him slumbers, briefly glimpsed now and again behind dark shades.—
Emma Madden,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The lead about the contraband came via Eric Harper (Joe Delfin), the criminal who shivved Lena's old friend Yancey (Kieron River) a few episodes back.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
23 May 2026
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Ben-Gvir, in addition to being an authoritarian racist, is a bona fide criminal.—
Avi Issacharoff,
The Atlantic,
22 May 2026
Noun
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Locations are chosen based on impaired-driving crashes, and first-time DUI offenders face average fines and penalties of $13,500.—
Sacbee.com,
Sacbee.com,
15 May 2026
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The governor had publicly questioned whether Peters’ nine-year sentence was too hard for a first-time, nonviolent offender.—
Claire Carter,
The Washington Examiner,
15 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Rapscallion.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rapscallion. Accessed 24 May. 2026.
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