noun
miscreant
MIHS-kree-uhnt
noun
1
Someone who behaves badly or breaks the law, often used in a light or old-fashioned way.
"The park ranger chased off a pair of miscreants who'd been carving names into the trees."
How to Use Miscreant
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA troublemaker or petty criminal.
When to use it
Has an old-fashioned or slightly playful tone in modern English — rarely used for serious crime.
Common pairings
a bunch of miscreants
local miscreants
Word Forms
more miscreant comparative, miscreants plural, most miscreant superlative
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Etymology
From Old French mescreant, "disbeliever," from mes- + creire ("to believe"); it originally meant someone with the wrong religious faith before shifting to mean a wrongdoer generally.