Word
Definitions
01shocking event
B2 · Upper Intermediate Countable noun
n. an event or action that shocks people because it is morally wrong or illegal.
n. an incident involving a perceived or actual violation of law or ethics that results in public outrage and reputational damage.
“The politician had to resign after a financial scandal was reported in the news.”
“The corporate scandal involving embezzled funds led to a complete overhaul of the company's executive board and a sharp decline in share prices.”
Synonyms
02gossip
B2 · Upper Intermediate Uncountable noun Informal
n. talk or reports about the shocking things other people have done.
n. malicious or defamatory talk regarding the private lives or conduct of others.
“The magazine is full of scandal about famous movie stars.”
“The local community was rife with scandal following the sudden and unexplained departure of the village priest.”
Antonyms
Collocations
Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word “scandal” in context.
Verb
01. be involved in a scandal
“Several high-ranking officials were involved in the financial scandal.”
verb + prep + noun
02. cause a scandal
“The minister's sudden resignation caused a massive scandal in the government.”
verb + noun
03. expose a scandal
“Investigative journalists worked for months to expose the corruption scandal.”
verb + noun
04. hush up a scandal
“The company tried to hush up the scandal to protect its stock price.”
verb + adv + noun
Adjective
05. major scandal
“The university is facing a major scandal involving cheated exam results.”
adj + noun
06. political scandal
“The latest political scandal has dominated the news headlines all week.”
adj + noun
Noun
07. center of a scandal
“The young actress unexpectedly found herself at the center of a scandal.”
noun + of + noun
08. scandal breaks
“The stock market crashed as soon as the scandal broke.”
noun + verb
Real-World Examples
“He assumes his new role at a difficult time, as the royal family has faced health challenges and scandals this year.” “Haakon assumes his new role at a difficult time, as the royal family has faced health challenges and scandals this year.” Etymology
From Middle French scandale (“indignation caused by misconduct or defamatory speech”), from Ecclesiastical Latin scandalum (“that on which one trips, cause of offense”, literally “stumbling block”), from Ancient Greek σκάνδαλον (skándalon, “a trap laid for an enemy, a cause of moral stumbling”), from Proto-Indo-European *skand- (“to jump”). Cognate with Latin scandō (“to climb”). First attested from Old Northern French escandle, but the modern word is a reborrowing. Doublet, via Old French esclandre, of slander. Sense evolution from "cause of stumbling, that which causes one to sin, stumbling block" to "discredit to reputation, that which brings shame, thing of disgrace" is possibly due to early influence from other similar sounding words for infamy and disgrace (compare Old English scand (“ignominity, scandal, disgraceful thing”), Old High German scanda (“ignominy, disgrace”), Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌰 (skanda, “shame, disgrace”)). See shand, shend, shonda.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
NOUN
ADJECTIVE
Related words
Domain
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.B2 FirstIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.5.5–6.5TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 4.0–4.572–94TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.785–944
- Frequency
- Common
- Level
- B2 · Upper IntermediateOxford
- Updated
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QR code
englishreference.com/q/scandal
「カタカナ語」 data: JMdict (EDRDG), CC BY-SA 4.0
‘외래어’ data: 한국어기초사전 (국립국어원), CC BY-SA 2.0 KR