Make Your Point > Archived Issues > MISCREANT
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connect today's word to others:
You know already that a miscreant is some kind of thug, bully, hoodlum, criminal, or ra___allion (some dishonest person, or just some playfully mischievous person), but have you ever peeked inside the word miscreant to see why it has that meaning?
Ooh, this is a good one, y'all; let's do it.
The mis part means "wrongly," and the creant part means "believing," from the Latin credere, "to believe."
So originally, a miscreant was a wrong believer: a heretic, a pagan, an infidel, someone who didn't buy into Christianity. Check out this example from 1421: "Sir John Oldcastell..was myscreant and unboxome to the lawe of God." Harsh!
Now that we see how miscreant is related to words like credo, creed, credit, and credible--they all have something to do with belief, believing, or believability--see if you can recall another related word: __cred_____, meaning "not believing; or shocked, awed, surprised, or impressed."
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
make your point with...
"MISCREANT"
A miscreant is a person who behaves very badly. In other words, a miscreant is a criminal or a villain.
Pronunciation:
MISS kree unt
Part of speech:
Noun, the countable kind: "he's a miscreant," "she's such a miscreant."
Other forms:
The plural is "miscreants."
"Miscreant" is also an adjective: "these miscreant politicians," "an entire miscreant society." But if you prefer your adjectives to look more adjectival, use the rare "miscreantic" (MISS kree AN tick).
Also rare, the adverb is "miscreantly" (MISS kree unt lee).
For a noun, pick "miscreance" (MISS kree unce) or "miscreancy" (MISS kree un see).
How to use it:
This word can range from serious and insulting ("that miscreant in charge of public spending") to funny and lighthearted ("that miscreant who wrote 'USE WATER' below the sign stating 'IN CASE OF FIRE DO NOT USE ELEVATOR'").
We often use its plural form, "miscreants," to lump wrongdoers into a general group.
And although a miscreant is usually a person, you can certainly personify things, animals, and ideas as miscreants: "Saturated fat is the current miscreant on our menu" (Washington Times).
examples:
The English language constantly evolves; there is no single authority who can, or should, protect it from the grubby fingerprints of miscreants who splice their commas and dangle their modifiers.
"Fighting, pepper-spraying, dumping merchandise, ransacking stores, robberies and shootings have all been reported on Black Friday. ... Research my colleagues and I conducted in 2014 examined how two situational variables – large crowds and the rude, argumentative behavior of fellow shoppers – affected the likelihood that otherwise jovial consumers would become Black Friday miscreants."
— Jaeha Lee, Salon, 22 November 2018
study it:
Explain the meaning of "miscreant" without saying "lowlife" or "scoundrel."
try it out:
Fill in the blanks: "Someone reported the miscreant(s) who had _____, who then had to _____."
Example: "Someone reported the miscreants who had ignored the line, who then had to slink, red-faced, to the very back of it."
before you review, play:
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
Our game last month was Tidbits and Titles!
I provided the tidbits; you provided the title.
From our previous issue:
Here's a quote from a book: "The history of interactions among disparate peoples is what shaped the modern world through conquest, epidemics and genocide. Those collisions created reverberations that have still not died down after many centuries, and that are actively continuing in some of the world's most troubled areas."
And here are some terms and phrases that often appear in that book: agriculture, ancient, century, colonization, cultural, epidemic, Fertile Crescent, germs, human societies, language family, Native Americans, seeds, Sumerian, tribes, Yali's question.
What's the book's title?
Answer: Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies.
Next up, with my thanks to Mike, the reader who inspired it, here's our new game for April:
Quintessential TV Quotes!
Each day, match the given vocabulary word to the quote that best illustrates it.
Try this one today:
From Big Bang Theory, which quote below best demonstrates someone being persnickety?
Quote A:
Bernadette: I told you you shouldn't have espresso after dinner. I know the little cups make you feel big, but it's not worth it.
Quote B:
Howard: I invented a game. Want to play?
Leonard: Sure.
Howard: It's called Emily or Cinnamon. I give you actual quotes I've heard Raj say, and you guess if he was talking to his girlfriend or his dog.
Quote C:
Sheldon: I'd like to go over some proposed changes to the roommate agreement, specifically to address Penny's annoying personal habits.
Penny: Oh my God! What personal habits?
Sheldon: I have a list. FYI, overuse of the phrase "Oh my God" is number 12.
review today's word:
Note: The exact opposite of MISCREANT looks like it should be CREANT, and yeah, etymologically, it is, but CREANT is now an obsolete word that had an unrelated meaning: "to cry creant" meant to surrender, to cry uncle.
1. Today, a close opposite of MISCREANT is
A. SAINT.
B. LEADER.
C. EGOMANIAC.
2. Their views are so antiquated; they'd probably like to put miscreants back _____.
A. in the stocks
B. in the kitchen
C. on store shelves
Answers are below.
a final word:
Make Your Point is crafted with love and brought to you each weekday morning by Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From Liesl's blog:
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.
Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
Answers to review questions:
1. A
2. A
You know already that a miscreant is some kind of thug, bully, hoodlum, criminal, or ra___allion (some dishonest person, or just some playfully mischievous person), but have you ever peeked inside the word miscreant to see why it has that meaning?
"MISCREANT" A miscreant is a person who behaves very badly. In other words, a miscreant is a criminal or a villain.
The English language constantly evolves; there is no single authority who can, or should, protect it from the grubby fingerprints of miscreants who splice their commas and dangle their modifiers.
Explain the meaning of "miscreant" without saying "lowlife" or "scoundrel."
Fill in the blanks: "Someone reported the miscreant(s) who had _____, who then had to _____."
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
Note: The exact opposite of MISCREANT looks like it should be CREANT, and yeah, etymologically, it is, but CREANT is now an obsolete word that had an unrelated meaning: "to cry creant" meant to surrender, to cry uncle.
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