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
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
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
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
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
See All Example Sentences for scamp
Noun
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
Verb
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
See All Example Sentences for scamp
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scamp
Noun
-
Many of the racist stereotypes depicted are negative toward Black people in the United States, showing them as monkeys, absent parents, or criminals.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
3 July 2025
-
There were also yaks, deer, buffalo, camels, a kangaroo, ostriches, eight monkeys, six raccoons, two grizzly bears, black bears, brown bears, seals, lions, an old tiger, a blind hyena, a circus elephant, an alligator and 400 birds, including a talking crow.—
Jeff Suess,
The Enquirer,
2 July 2025
Noun
-
Serial killers with a code, far-future space operas, superheroes doing battle with dastardly villains.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
12 July 2025
-
But just to use an example, Force Awakens sets up Snoke as the big villain of the new trilogy, with a mysterious backstory.—
Alan Sepinwall,
Rolling Stone,
12 July 2025
Verb
-
That Volpe has made a habit of botching plays in high-leverage situations has only compounded the issue, along with his lacking bat.—
Gary Phillips,
New York Daily News,
5 July 2025
-
Albertsons is still suing Kroger over the merger for allegedly botching the deal and dooming the companies' bid for regulatory approval.—
Alexander Coolidge,
The Enquirer,
2 July 2025
Noun
-
There may devils in these details Jenkins is a former Detroit City Council president and nonprofit CEO.—
M.L. Elrick,
Freep.com,
3 July 2025
-
In retrospect, both fans and Grenier himself have asserted that Nate may be the actual villain of The Devil Wears Prada, and not the titular devil herself.—
Madison E. Goldberg,
People.com,
1 July 2025
Noun
-
King's polo playing husband, Bill Mitchell — who went on to become a director for Texaco — became the model for Daisy’s rich brute of a husband, Tom Buchanan.—
Jordan Runtagh,
People.com,
5 June 2025
-
This freshly re-imagined Jag is worlds apart from that old German brute, but was similar in the sense of feeling wonderfully light and responsive, and utilizing hydraulic fluid to power its steering.—
Peter Nelson,
Forbes.com,
12 June 2025
Verb
-
What to know about the German Shepherd tied to the Karen Read trial Karen Read claims police bungled the investigation.—
Jeanine Santucci,
USA Today,
19 June 2025
-
Burnett did not relent, and Miramax arguably buried the film, bungling its marketing.—
Doreen St. Félix,
New Yorker,
14 June 2025
Noun
-
And now, without further ado, an ode to the rogues and rascals who make being hot and doing crimes in this galaxy so fun to watch.—
Nicholas Quah,
Vulture,
22 Apr. 2025
-
Something tells me those wary rascals spotted us and gave us the slip.—
Percy Brown,
Outdoor Life,
12 June 2025
Noun
-
But the Cubs could also use him as a trade chip in a monster deal.—
Zach Pressnell,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 July 2025
-
When Sinner got an early break in the fourth with another monster backhand, there was an inevitability about the outcome.—
Tim Ellis,
Forbes.com,
13 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Scamp.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scamp. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share