scandal
scan·dal/ˈskændəl/noun
scandal is spelled S-C-A-N-D-A-L: 7 letters and 2 syllables (scan·dal). It appears 15 times per million words in written English, the 5,407th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, scandal means “An incident or event that disgraces or damages the reputation of the persons or organization involved” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of scandal is scandals.
How many letters and syllables are in scandal?
| Letters | 7: S-C-A-N-D-A-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: scan·dal |
| In writing | 15 times per million words; the 5,407th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is scandal?
Scandal appears 15 times per million words in written English, the 5,407th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce scandal?
- UK /ˈskændəl/
- UK [ˈskændəl] ~ [ˈskændl̩]
- British /ˈskandəl/
Scandal has 2 syllables, split scan·dal in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-scandal.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Wodencafe-scandal.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of scandal
- scandals plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- scandaling US, participle, present
- scandalling UK, participle, present
- scandaled US, participle, past
- scandalled UK, participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does scandal mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An incident or event that disgraces or damages the reputation of the persons or organization involved.
Their affair was reported as a scandal by most tabloids.
- 2
Damage to one's reputation.
The incident brought considerable scandal to his family.
- 3
Widespread moral outrage, indignation, as over an offence to decency.
When their behaviour was made public it caused a great scandal.
- 4
A word or deed, lacking in rectitude in some manner, which is an occasion of the spiritual ruin of another.
- 5
Defamatory talk; gossip, slander.
According to village scandal, they weren't even married.
- 6
colloquialamateur or homemade pornography
- 7
colloquialinformalcommotion.
phrase
- 1
Acronym of speciated by cancer development animals.
noun
- 1
Ellipsis of SCANDAL taxon (“a species or taxon which speciated due to the SCANDAL process”).
- 2
Ellipsis of SCANDAL process (“the mechanism for speciation through cancer cells becoming independent of the originating creature, and living on”).
verb
- 1
obsoleteTo defame; to slander.
- 2
obsoleteTo scandalize; to offend.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Scandal in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense incident that brings disgrace:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does scandal come from?
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).