scandal
noun
[ ˈskand(ə)l ]
• an action or event regarded as morally or legally wrong and causing general public outrage.
• "a bribery scandal involving one of his key supporters"
Similar:
outrageous wrongdoing,
outrageous behaviour,
immoral behaviour,
unethical behaviour,
discreditable behaviour,
impropriety,
misconduct,
wrongdoing,
offence,
transgression,
crime,
sin,
skeleton in the cupboard,
skeleton in the closet,
business,
affair,
-gate,
Origin:
Middle English (in the sense ‘discredit to religion (by the reprehensible behaviour of a religious person)’): from Old French scandale, from ecclesiastical Latin scandalum ‘cause of offence’, from Greek skandalon ‘snare, stumbling block’.
