rascals

noun

plural of rascal
1
as in monkeys
an appealingly mischievous person you little rascal, I saw you snitching some hors d'oeuvres even though our guests haven't even arrived yet

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in villains
a mean, evil, or unprincipled person some cold-blooded rascal had set the barn afire

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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 rascals Of all the former rascals, Symoné has enjoyed the longest and most successful career in entertainment. — Andrew Walsh, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Jan. 2026 In the years since 2004’s Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, Penn’s carved out a niche embodying big-talking, attention-grabbing rascals who say inappropriate things, then shrug their way through the consequences. — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 12 Jan. 2026 In a time when unemployment is on the rise and the rich are running amok and wreaking havoc on the poor — and the social services in place to support them — who doesn’t love the idea of rogue rascals sticking it to a bougie institution by running off with its crown jewels? — Kathleen Newman-Bremang, Refinery29, 12 Nov. 2025 The former child actors have grown up since their go-kart derby days on-screen — some have even welcomed their own little rascals off-screen. — Keith Langston, People.com, 5 Aug. 2025 With their heavy bodies, the rascals had ridden down the oak trees to crop the luscious acorns from the tree tips. — Frank C. Hibben, Outdoor Life, 13 Feb. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rascals
  1. monkeys
  2. villains
  3. devils
  4. brutes
  5. criminals
  6. offenders
  7. savages
  8. monsters
Noun
  • Here, in the heart of an expansive park filled with birds and monkeys, is a refuge from the frenzy of this teeming metropolis.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Long-range inhibitory neurons marked by the activity of these genes have been known for some time, based on studies in monkeys, but researchers couldn’t figure out how to manipulate them using these genes.
    — Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of monkeys
Noun
  • Rival fans were quick to jump all over this fact, given that both the Panthers and the Tkachuk brothers were seen as polarizing villains throughout the NHL.
    — Austin Perry OutKick, FOXNews.com, 16 Oct. 2026
  • There are no villains or scary scenes in this gentle story about a young witch finding her way in the world.
    — Anna Earl, Parents, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of villains
Noun
  • Researchers have also documented the phenomenon in dogs, Tasmanian devils, and some kinds of clams and other shellfish.
    — Adam Cohen, Oklahoman, 18 Aug. 2026
  • In 2025, two Tasmanian devils arrived at the Australian Outback exhibit.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 29 July 2026
Definition of devils
Noun
  • These brutes commonly exceed 50 pounds.
    — Keith Sutton, Outdoor Life, 18 June 2026
  • In Raspail’s tale, hordes of impoverished and dark-​skinned brutes from India descend onto French shores by way of rafts, the first wave of an invasion of the civilized West by the brown-​skinned developing world.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 8 Apr. 2026
Definition of brutes
Noun
  • That same month, criminals nabbed a $4 million diamond necklace from Vienna’s Museum of Applied Arts (MAK).
    — Lianne Kolirin, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2026
  • For decades, Hollywood actor Danny Trejo’s bread and butter was playing gangsters, prison inmates and other assorted criminals.
    — Corky Siemaszko, NBC news, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of criminals
Noun
  • Research on offenders with mental disorders suggests that recidivism depends more on criminal history than on diagnosis.
    — Leigh Egan, FOXNews.com, 16 Oct. 2026
  • At the root of the crisis is inadequate laws to punish offenders and a poor judicial system, activists say.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of offenders
Noun
  • And potentially discover treasure that will keep the savages at home from tearing the place down.
    — Barry Collins, Forbes.com, 28 July 2026
  • Or a group of shipwrecked boys turning into savages and killing one another?
    — Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2026
Definition of savages
Noun
  • Yet the greatest of these monsters is Poseidon himself, the great disruptor, the earth-shaker and master of the stormy seas.
    — Jeff DeGraff, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2026
  • First, as medical courier Bryan Hodukavich in Resident Evil, he was forced to contend with an onslaught of mutant zombie monsters.
    — Megan McCluskey, Time, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of monsters

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Cite this Entry

“Rascals.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rascals. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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