miscreant
/ˈmɪs.kɹi.ənt/ adjective, noun
Forms miscreants miscreaunt
- adjective Lacking in conscience or moral principles; unscrupulous.
- adjective (theology) Holding an incorrect religious belief.
- noun One who has behaved badly, or illegally. “The teacher sent the miscreants to see the school principal.”
- noun One not restrained by moral principles; an unscrupulous villain.
- noun (theology) One who holds a false religious belief; a misbeliever.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English myscreaunt, miscreaunt, from Old French mescreant (1080) "mis-believer", present participle of mescreire "to misbelieve" (modern mécroire). Cognate with French mécréant.
Webster’s 1913
- noun One who holds a false religious faith; a misbeliever. [Obs.]
- noun One not restrained by Christian principles; an unscrupulous villain; a while wretch. Addison.
- adjective Holding a false religious faith.
- adjective Destitute of conscience; unscrupulous. Pope.
Etymology [OF. mescreant, F. mécréant; pref. mes- (L. minus less) + p. pr. fr. L. credere to believe. See Creed.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “miscreant”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details