unscrupulous

adjective

un·​scru·​pu·​lous ˌən-ˈskrü-pyə-ləs How to pronounce unscrupulous (audio)
: not scrupulous : unprincipled
unscrupulously adverb
unscrupulousness noun

Examples of unscrupulous in a Sentence

an unscrupulous businessman manipulated them into selling their land for practically nothing
Recent Examples on the Web Perhaps no character better embodied Walsh’s talents than Loren Visser, the unscrupulous private detective in Blood Simple (1984), the Coen brothers’ feature debut. Chris Koseluk, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Mar. 2024 For instance, an unscrupulous government official could engineer an economic crisis to hurt a political rival, or juice the economy in the short term to bolster their own tenure in office, while hurting its long-term health by causing it to overheat. Paolo Confino, Fortune, 16 Mar. 2024 Buyers might have unrealistic expectations for unscrupulous salespeople to prey upon. Kyle Russell, USA TODAY, 16 Mar. 2024 Season 2 will pick up as Thorne tries to turn her Australian dream into reality as well as introducing some new characters who are sure to bring the drama, including the Skinner family, who have arrived from Ireland, and an unscrupulous landlord called Benny Bates. K.j. Yossman, Variety, 31 Jan. 2024 But over the past year, it has been dragged into several legal disputes involving investors, business partners and corporate rivals, who claimed a pattern of unscrupulous business practices by Milam, Berling and other executives. Ezra Marcus, New York Times, 30 Jan. 2024 Some don’t seek out help with their taxes, often because of the expense or bad experiences with unscrupulous preparers. Rebecca Plevin, Los Angeles Times, 8 Mar. 2024 The Council argued this move, which had already been adopted in Carmel, Bloomington and a dozen other Indiana cities, would decrease demand for animals from unscrupulous breeders and lower the amount of unwanted animals landing in the city's already overcrowded shelters. Rory Appleton, The Indianapolis Star, 7 Mar. 2024 In pushing his lawyers to be more aggressive, Mr. Trump may be searching for someone to emulate his earliest lawyer and fixer, Roy M. Cohn, an unscrupulous defender against whom Mr. Trump has measured other lawyers for decades. Ben Protess, New York Times, 2 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'unscrupulous.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1803, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of unscrupulous was in 1803

Dictionary Entries Near unscrupulous

Cite this Entry

“Unscrupulous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unscrupulous. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

unscrupulous

adjective
un·​scru·​pu·​lous ˌən-ˈskrü-pyə-ləs How to pronounce unscrupulous (audio)
ˈən-
: not scrupulous : unprincipled
unscrupulously adverb
unscrupulousness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on unscrupulous

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