RASCAL Synonyms: 106 Similar and Opposite Words

rascal

noun

ˈra-skəl

Definition of rascal

as in monkey

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in villain

a mean, evil, or unprincipled person some cold-blooded rascal had set the barn afire

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 rascal 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 hilarious hijinks that ensue are centered on a rugby-playing rascal whose initial interests in pulling chicks and working get-rich-quick schemes give way to a lifelong love of writing poetry in the post-Soviet-occupation era of the 1990s. — Courtney Howard, Variety, 30 Oct. 2025 And Eli was, at times, a bit of a rascal. — David Kamp, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for rascal

Recent Examples of Synonyms for rascal

Noun

At the University of Mississippi, a video went viral of a Black woman surrounded by white students and the white students mimicking ape-like motions toward the woman and making monkey-like calls.

— Irene Wright, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2026
Those born during the year of the monkey can place a flag or paper decorated with the monkey symbol on or around a sacred structure inside the temple hall.

— Brooke Schedneck, The Conversation, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of monkey

Noun

Hailing from London as the son of hardscrabble fruit sellers, Winstone was often asked to channel his rough-and-tumble upbringing and pre-acting career as a boxer into mobster and villain roles.

— Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Aug. 2026
Standing in his way is a mysterious villain intent on his destruction.

— Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of villain

Noun

In January, Watts was a guest on actor Rainn Wilson’s podcast, where Watts played devil’s advocate to Wilson’s skeptic about casual use of mind-altering substances.

— Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 20 Aug. 2026
Throughout the movie, two mentors stand over each of his shoulders like an aproned angel and devil.

— Alison Willmore, Vulture, 7 Aug. 2026

Definition of devil

Noun

Most sportsmen wonder how any whitetail bucks, let alone a brute such as Kontras’, could have been so easily patterned.

— Jeff Murray, Outdoor Life, 20 Aug. 2026
The show’s depiction of Hugh as a family man has been much more sympathetic than the book’s description of him as a power-hungry brute.

— James Grebey, Vulture, 10 Aug. 2026

Definition of brute

Noun

Manson and his followers evaded police for months but were eventually arrested and charged in the savage slayings in December 1969.

— Lynsey Eidell, PEOPLE, 15 Aug. 2026
For all its characteristic restraint and formal diligence, Killing Spree is a book that wants to make noise, to cut through the dead air with cries of grief and rage, undoing our own savage torpor.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Aug. 2026

Definition of savage

Browse Nearby Words

rarity

rascal

rascality

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Cite this Entry

Style

“Rascal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rascal. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of rascal

noun

Example Sentences

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