noun / adjective
miscreant
MIS-kree-unt/ˈmɪskriənt/
Behaving badly or a person who does so.
The miscreant cuts a bicycle's security chain.
Etymology
The pieces originally described someone regarded as believing wrongly, especially a non-Christian or heretic. That religious condemnation broadened into the general sense of a villain or badly behaved person.
In context
nothing more than a creepy miscreant preying on teenagers but others like Garrison Keillor felt more like a member of the family
More examples
- Officials caught the miscreants damaging the monument.
- The tale followed a band of miscreant thieves.
- The shopkeeper chased the young miscreant from the store.
Forms
miscreant · miscreants
Similar words
- wrongdoer
- Wrongdoer is relatively neutral; miscreant conveys stronger condemnation or sometimes humorous disapproval.
- criminal
- A criminal violates the law; miscreant can describe bad behavior that is not criminal.