1
as in monkey
an appealingly mischievous person
those little scamps are always getting into trouble, but no one has the heart to punish them
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in villain
a mean, evil, or unprincipled person
an insincere and ruthlessly ambitious scamp who was willing to do anything to win the reality show's grand prize
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to botch
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 scamp
Michael Barnes, Austin American-Statesman, 24 June 2024
Dogs were the reigning scamps in most households and were twice as likely as cats to cause damage.
—Jessica Guynn, USA TODAY, 9 July 2024
Elle Carroll, Vulture, 6 Dec. 2021
Sunshine scamps: The Florida Project is a delighful, poignant, dark-and-light movie about kids living on the seedy side of Disney.
—Rebecca Onion, Slate Magazine, 6 Oct. 2017
See All Example Sentences for scamp
Noun
Eventually, neighborhood scamps dropped down into the park's stone drainage channel, built in 1934 as a New Deal project and still the park's distinguishing feature, and followed it underground.
—Michael Barnes, Austin American-Statesman, 24 June 2024
Dogs were the reigning scamps in most households and were twice as likely as cats to cause damage.
—Jessica Guynn, USA TODAY, 9 July 2024
Verb
While its individual characters feel largely interchangeable, the movie hums with life and pleasure when Borowczyk lets his nuns twirl around the chapel in a painterly tableau and scamp through the convent.
—Elle Carroll, Vulture, 6 Dec. 2021
Sunshine scamps: The Florida Project is a delighful, poignant, dark-and-light movie about kids living on the seedy side of Disney.
—Rebecca Onion, Slate Magazine, 6 Oct. 2017
See All Example Sentences for scamp
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scamp
Noun
-
The hotel workers keep warning guests about the monkeys—not to mention the poisonous fruit—and the episodes have been filled with ominous shots of primate statues.—
Eliana Dockterman,
TIME,
24 Feb. 2025
-
As ever, alongside the snakes, there are monkeys are, and the episode ends with Timothy Ratliff pondering his legal troubles.—
Peter White,
Deadline,
23 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
This shortcoming extends to its assortment of villains who, despite including celebrity appearances like AEW wrestler Samoa Joe, fail to leave a memorable impression beyond being yet another obstacle on the way to the end credits.—
Isaiah Colbert,
Rolling Stone,
18 Feb. 2025
-
More news: Warner Bros Delays 'The Batman 2' For a Third Time One of Batman's biggest foes is Clayface, a villain who can mold his body into a multitude of devastating shapes.—
Josh Hammer,
Newsweek,
14 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
The previous White House botched the August 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan, ushering the Taliban back into power.—
Bloomberg Opinion,
Twin Cities,
21 Feb. 2025
-
Jack Ryan in Patriot Games (1992) and Clear and Present Danger (1994) Did Alec Baldwin botch the negotiations to continue playing Jack Ryan after The Hunt for Red October, or did Paramount want to replace him with Ford, a much bigger name?—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
18 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Investigation of the week: Anyone wanna play devil’s Daniel’s advocate?—
Jennifer Zhan,
Vulture,
14 Feb. 2025
-
The album’s artwork depicts a cartoon version of the messy-haired singer with an angel and devil on each of his shoulders — demonstrating its division of impassioned feel-good love songs and down-tempo ballads of loss and defeat.—
Cerys Davies,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
Smith has been on the outer of the Australian team in the T20 format, his weakest format where his lack of power can get exposed in a game dotted by muscular brutes.—
Tristan Lavalette,
Forbes,
20 Jan. 2025
-
Maliki is a divisive brute whom Iran supports to the hilt.—
Dov Friedman,
Foreign Affairs,
17 June 2014
Verb
-
Yet cops and doctors still bungled the follow-up and compounded the survivor’s distress.—
Jessica Winter,
The New Yorker,
3 Feb. 2025
-
Gaga hasn’t released a pop album since 2020’s Chromatica, which saw its release strategy get bungled by the pandemic.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
22 Oct. 2024
Noun
-
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
-
Till then, the always-in-hot-water antics of CIA attorney/reluctant spy Owen Hendricks (Centineo) keep us engaged and curious over how the troublemaking rascal is going to get out of another mess he’s made.—
Randy Myers,
The Mercury News,
6 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Distorted and exaggerated by Weegee’s hand—with grins set in a chilling rictus, or eyes and noses spread wide and pancaked—these idols became monsters.—
Naomi Fry,
The New Yorker,
22 Feb. 2025
-
Monster Train 2 looks to be building on the foundations of its predecessor, so players will once again board a train and defend it against incoming monster hordes on several vertical levels at the same time.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
20 Feb. 2025
Articles Related to scamp
Cite this Entry
“Scamp.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scamp. Accessed 28 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share