SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
scurrilous
adjective
Coarsely abusive or damaging, often through false accusations.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
Coarsely abusive
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topScurrilous attacks are low or abusive and may use false accusations. Defamatory and slanderous specifically concern reputational harm; vulgar alone does not imply accusation.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See scurrilous in use
The editor refused to print the scurrilous rumor about a rival author.
A scurrilous leaflet went beyond the documented labeling problem, spreading coarse personal accusations about the museum staff that its writer knew were false.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license