Basic Details
Word: Scandal
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: An action or event that people think is very wrong and that causes public shock, anger and talk.
Synonyms: disgrace, outrage, shame
Word origin: From Greek skandalon, a trap or stumbling block, through Latin scandalum.
How to Spell Scandal
Syllables: scan - dal
Tricky part: The ending sounds like -dle or -del in fast speech, so scandle and scandel are common. It is -dal, with an a.
Watch out for: scandle, scandel, skandal
Memory tip: Scan the newspaper and you may find a scandal: scan + dal, spelt just like the dal you eat with rice.
Usage Examples
Example 1: The scandal over the leaked question paper forced the board to hold the exam again.
Example 2: Nobody in the building could talk about anything except the scandal at the cooperative bank.
Example 3: The film star's lawyers said the story was untrue and that there was no scandal at all.
Fun Fact
The word slander is a close cousin: it also comes from Latin scandalum, which turned into esclandre in Old French before reaching English.
Practise the CREST Way
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters in the sentence to form a meaningful word:
The newspaper exposed a lacsdan involving fake exam certificates.
a) scandal
b) scanned
c) candles
d) sandals
Show answer
a) scandal. Only scandal uses exactly these seven letters: sandals has no c, candles needs an e, and scanned needs an e and a second n.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
The cricket board ordered an inquiry after the match-fixing scandle shocked fans across the whole country last summer.
a) country
b) shocked
c) inquiry
d) scandle
Show answer
d) scandle. The word ends in -dal, so scandle is wrong; inquiry, shocked and country are all spelt correctly.
Word Connection
Which word is a synonym of scandal in this sentence?
The bribery scandal forced the mayor to resign within a week.
a) disgrace
b) reward
c) honour
d) victory
Show answer
a) disgrace. Taking bribes brought shame on the mayor; honour, reward and victory are all good things.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A scandal usually causes ____.
a) heavy rain in the hills
b) a sudden rise in marks
c) a long school holiday
d) public shock and anger
Show answer
d) public shock and anger
2. Which of these could be described as a scandal?
a) a family going on a picnic
b) a shop selling fresh bread
c) a student winning a quiz
d) a minister caught taking bribes
Show answer
d) a minister caught taking bribes
