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At first glance, you might think scapegrace has something in common with scapegoat, our word for a person who takes the blame for someone else's mistake or calamity. Indeed, the words do share a common source—the verb scape, a variant of escape that was once far more common than it is today. Scapegrace, which first appeared in English in the mid-18th century (over 200 years after scapegoat), arrived at its meaning through its literal interpretation as "one who has escaped the grace of God." (Two now-obsolete words based on a similar notion are scape-thrift, meaning "spendthrift," and want-grace, a synonym of scapegrace.) In ornithological circles, scapegrace can also refer to a loon with a red throat, but this sense is rare.
Synonyms
Examples of scapegrace in a Sentence
New York Times, 22 July 2021
Suddenly, Juliana’s romantic ennui is interrupted by the reappearance, after an 11-year absence, of her scapegrace oldest brother.
—Michael Dirda, Washington Post, 12 Feb. 2020
The Middle Ages died dismally, and the scapegrace poet Francois Villon sang their requiem in the wineshops of the Cité.
—Bruce Dale, National Geographic, 17 Apr. 2019
Somehow, a theme-park ride combined with clever, madcap visuals and Johnny Depp’s scapegrace showboating added up to something fresh.
—A. O. Scott, New York Times, 25 May 2017
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Cite this Entry
“Scapegrace.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scapegrace. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.
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