Adjacent Words

Miscreant definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

MIS'CREANT, n. [L. credens, credo.]
1. An infidel, or one who embraces a false faith.
2. A vile wretch; an unprincipled fellow.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a person without moral scruples [syn: reprobate, miscreant]

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English miscreaunt, from Anglo-French mescreant, present participle of mescreire to disbelieve, from mes- + creire to believe, from Latin credere — more at creed Date: 14th century 1. unbelieving, heretical 2. depraved, villainous <miscreant behavior> II. noun Date: 14th century 1. infidel, heretic 2. one who behaves criminally or viciously

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & adj. --n. 1 a vile wretch, a villain. 2 archaic a heretic. --adj. 1 depraved, villainous. 2 archaic heretical. Etymology: ME f. OF mescreant (as MIS-(2), creant part. of croire f. L credere believe)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Miscreant Mis"cre*ant, a. 1. Holding a false religious faith. 2. Destitute of conscience; unscrupulous. --Pope.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Miscreant Mis"cre*ant, n. [OF. mescreant, F. m['e]cr['e]ant; pref. mes- (L. minus less) + p. pr. fr. L. credere to believe. See Creed.] 1. One who holds a false religious faith; a misbeliever. [Obs.] --Spenser. De Quincey. Thou oughtest not to be slothful to the destruction of the miscreants, but to constrain them to obey our Lord God. --Rivers. 2. One not restrained by Christian principles; an unscrupulous villain; a while wretch. --Addison.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(miscreants) A miscreant is someone who has done something illegal or behaved badly. (LITERARY) Local people demanded that the District Magistrate apprehend the miscreants. N-COUNT

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Villain, scoundrel, knave, rascal, rogue, scamp, vile wretch, caitiff.

Moby Thesaurus

backslider, bad egg, bad lot, base, bastard, black sheep, blackguard, caitiff, corrupt, criminal, crook, degenerate, depraved, evil, fallen angel, felon, felonious, flagitious, good-for-nothing, heel, hood, hoodlum, hooligan, infamous, iniquitous, knave, lecher, lost sheep, lost soul, lowlife, malefactor, malefic, malevolent, mischief-maker, mischievous, mug, nefarious, perverse, pervert, pimp, profligate, rapscallion, rascal, rascally, recidivist, recreant, reprobate, rogue, rough, roughneck, rowdy, ruffian, scalawag, scamp, scapegrace, scoundrel, scoundrelly, sorry lot, thug, trollop, unhealthy, unprincipled, vicious, villain, villainous, whore, wicked, wretch, wretched, wrongdoer