ISEE/SSAT Vocabulary BuilderWordsSscurrilous
ISEE/SSAThard
scurrilous
Meaning: making grossly insulting or false attacks on someone's reputation
scurrilous in a sentence
How scurrilous is used in real sentences:
The candidate refused to answer the scurrilous accusations printed by the hostile newspaper.
Her scurrilous article relied on insults and rumors rather than evidence.
“Meanwhile, an anonymous pamphlet launched scurrilous charges against Venn, accusing her falsely of theft and drunkenness.”
— from the passage The Season of Reckoning
“A rival printed scurrilous claims that Vane stole public money and abandoned his family, accusations unsupported by the accounts or his letters.”
— from the passage The Sealed County Papers
“Then anonymous accounts circulated scurrilous claims that one engineer had concealed a flood, although dated sensor records proved that charge false.”
— from the passage The Thawing Refuge
Synonyms for scurrilous
Other words for scurrilous — defamatory, slanderous and abusive — carry the same meaning.
- defamatory
- slanderous
- abusive
Antonyms of scurrilous
Words that mean the opposite of scurrilous:
- respectful
- courteous
- complimentary
Where it comes from
From Latin scurra, meaning 'buffoon' or 'vulgar jester.'
Memory hook
SCURRILOUS sounds like 'scurry lies': vicious lies scurry through a scurrilous attack.
Practice scurrilous in the app