scurrilous
adjective/ˈskʌrələs/
/ˈskɜːrələs/
(formal)- very rude and offensive, and intended to damage somebody’s reputation
- scurrilous rumours
- He wrote a scurrilous piece about me in the local press.
Oxford Collocations DictionaryScurrilous is used with these nouns:- attack
- rumour
Word Originlate 16th cent.: from French scurrile or Latin scurrilus (from scurra ‘buffoon’) + -ous.
Check pronunciation:
scurrilous