RASCAL

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does rascal mean? 

• RASCAL (noun)
  The noun RASCAL has 2 senses:

1. a deceitful and unreliable scoundrel

2. one who is playfully mischievous

  Familiarity information: RASCAL used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• RASCAL (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A deceitful and unreliable scoundrel

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

knave; rapscallion; rascal; rogue; scalawag; scallywag; varlet

Hypernyms ("rascal" is a kind of...):

scoundrel; villain (a wicked or evil person; someone who does evil deliberately)

Derivation:

rascally (lacking principles or scruples)

Sense 2

Meaning:

One who is playfully mischievous

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

imp; monkey; rapscallion; rascal; scalawag; scallywag; scamp

Hypernyms ("rascal" is a kind of...):

child; fry; kid; minor; nestling; nipper; shaver; small fry; tiddler; tike; tyke; youngster (a young person of either sex)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "rascal"):

brat; holy terror; little terror; terror (a very troublesome child)

Derivation:

rascally (playful in an appealingly bold way)

 Context examples 

Who knows what these rascals may be doing in my absence?

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

But where are my six rascals?

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The fellow was a rascal from the beginning, but, in some extraordinary way, James became intimate with him.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Call yourself any names you like, but I am neither a rascal nor a wretch and I don't choose to be called so.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

I beg your pardon, Mr. Dashwood, but if he had done otherwise, I should have thought him a rascal.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

“Have you heard the story? What were these villains after but money? What do they care for but money? For what would they risk their rascal carcasses but money?”

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

The parson ran out as fast as he could, and the miller said: “It was true; I saw the black rascal with my own eyes.”

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

A wicked rascal, Ned, but droll!

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

This should put another bird in the cage. I had no idea that the paymaster was such a rascal, though I have long had an eye upon him.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

"Why, yes, yes, dinner, you know—just pot luck with us, with your old superintendent, you rascal," he uttered nervously, poking Martin in an attempt at jocular fellowship.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)