Scurrilous — A Vocabulary Story
A sweet story
Nabil's older sister, Samia, burst into the living room with her phone held high like a trophy. "I've got proof!" she announced dramatically. "Absolute proof that Mrs Hall keeps a secret sweet stash in her desk drawer!"
Their mum looked up from her crossword, eyebrows raised. "Samia, that's quite an accusation."
"It's not an accusation if it's true!" Samia insisted, scrolling through her phone. "Sophie told me that her cousin's friend saw—"
"Stop right there," their dad interrupted from his armchair. "These scurrilous claims about your teacher need to stop."
Scurrilous means making or spreading scandalous, insulting, or vulgar remarks.
Samia blinked. "Scurrilous? I'm just sharing information!"
"You're spreading rumours," Mum said firmly, setting down her puzzle. "Especially ones that probably aren't even true."
"But Sophie's cousin's friend—"
"Heard it from someone else, who heard it from someone else," Nabil piped up, rather enjoying his sister's comeuppance. "The story's probably completely different by now. Remember when you told everyone I'd eaten seventeen sausages at the school barbecue? It was three. Three sausages, Samia."
"That's different!"
"Is it?" Dad asked. "You spread a scurrilous rumour about your brother that made him sound like a competitive eating champion."
Samia's cheeks flushed pink. "Well, when you put it like that..."
"And now you're about to gossip about Mrs Hall based on fourth-hand information," Mum added gently.
Nabil grinned. "Remember what happened when people spread those scurrilous stories about Mr Rake supposedly keeping a pet snake in the science cupboard? The poor man had to show everyone his completely snake-free cupboard."
"Fine, fine!" Samia groaned, pocketing her phone. "No spreading wild stories about teachers. But for the record, I still think—"
"Samia."
"Right. Being quiet now."
Nabil settled back into the sofa, satisfied. Perhaps having a sensible family wasn't so bad after all — especially when it stopped Samia from her gossip campaigns.
Word Definition
scurrilous
meaning
making or spreading scandalous, insulting, or vulgar remarks
synonyms
defamatory · outrageous · salacious · obscene · vituperative
antonyms
decent · polite · deferential
example sentence
The politician was known for his scurrilous attacks on his opponents.