miscreant

English

WOTD – 27 April 2009

Alternative forms

• miscreaunt (obsolete)

Etymology

From Old French mescreant (1080) "mis-believer", present participle of mescreire "to misbelieve" (modern mécroire).

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) enPR: mĭsʹkrē-ənt, IPA^(key): /ˈmɪs.kɹi.ənt/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Adjective

miscreant (comparative more miscreant, superlative most miscreant)

1. Lacking in conscience or moral principles; unscrupulous.
2. (theology) Holding an incorrect religious belief.

Translations

lacking in conscience or moral principles; unscrupulous

• Czech: ničemný

• Russian: развращённый (ru) (razvraščónnyj)

holding an incorrect religious belief

• Czech: kacířský
• Esperanto: άπιστος
• French: mécréant (fr)

• Russian: еретический (ru) (jeretičeskij)
• Serbo-Croatian: heretički (sh)

Noun

miscreant (plural miscreants)

1. One who has behaved badly, or illegally.

   The teacher sent the miscreants to see the school principal.

2. One not restrained by moral principles; an unscrupulous villain.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Addison to this entry?)

3. (theology) One who holds a false religious belief; a misbeliever.
   • (Can we date this quote by Spencer?)

     Arise thou cursed Miscreaunt,

     That hast with knightlesse guile and trecherous train

     Faire knighthood fowly shamed

   (Can we find and add a quotation of De Quincey to this entry?)

   • Rivers

     Thou oughtest not to be slothful to the destruction of the miscreants, but to constrain them to obey our Lord God.

Quotations

• For quotations of use of this term, see Citations:miscreant.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:troublemaker
• See also Thesaurus:villain

Translations

one who has behaved badly or illegally

• Czech: ničema (cs) m
• Serbo-Croatian: izgrednik

• Spanish: facineroso

one not restrained by moral principles

• Czech: ničema (cs) m

one who holds a false religious belief; an unbeliever

• Arabic: فَاسِق‎ m (fāsiq)
• Czech: kacíř (cs) m, nevěrec m
• French: mécréant (fr) m, mécréante (fr) f

• German: Missetäter m, Missetäterin f
• Serbo-Croatian: heretik (sh), bezvjerac (sh), bezbožnik (sh)
• Turkish: fasık (tr)

Anagrams

• Encratism, minecarts