Definitions

unscrupulous

[uhn-skroo-pyuh-luhs] / ʌnˈskru pyə ləs /

ADJECTIVE

immoral

Synonyms

STRONGEST

corrupt crafty crooked deceitful dishonest illegal petty ruthless selfish shady shameless underhanded unethical venal

WEAK

arrant base casuistic conscienceless degraded degrading disgraceful dishonorable down and dirty exploitative improper low-down mercenary perfidious questionable recreant scandalous scheming self-seeking shifty sinister slippery sly two-faced unconscientious unconscionable underhand unfair unprincipled unworthy wicked wrongful

Antonyms

STRONGEST

aboveboard decent ethical fair frank good honest honorable kind lawful moral open principled right trustworthy truthful upright

WEAK

scrupulous

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Ramaphosa explained how unscrupulous employers pay undocumented migrants well below the minimum wage and "merely" pay a fine if caught.

From BBC • Jun. 7, 2026

Less-frequent reporting gives unscrupulous managers more opportunity to hide losses.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 27, 2026

As all those options cost money, what unscrupulous traders actually do is either illegally burn the clothes, or illegally dump them out in the surrounding Atacama Desert.

From BBC • Apr. 19, 2026

Some unscrupulous businesses are seeing it as an opportunity.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026

While construction crews began expanding roads and nailing together new buildings at Los Alamos, Oppenheimer turned to his next task: “a policy of absolutely unscrupulous recruiting of anyone we can lay hands on.”

From "Bomb" by Steve Sheinkin

Vocabulary lists containing unscrupulous

The Catcher in the Rye

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Power Prefix: un-

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Grade 10, List 6

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