disgraceful gossip about the private lives of other people
"The local newspaper broke a scandal involving rumors about the mayor's secret affairs, which left the entire town in shock."
An incident or event that disgraces or damages the reputation of the persons or organization involved.
"The CEO resigned after a major scandal involving embezzlement severely damaged his company's reputation."
In plain English: A scandal is an event that causes public anger because it involves something wrong or dishonest done by someone important.
"The politician resigned after his cheating scandal broke in the newspapers."
Usage: Use this noun primarily when referring to a public event involving misconduct, rather than for general criticism which is better expressed with words like "criticism" or "outrage." As a verb, it specifically means to publicly shame someone through false accusations of immorality.
To treat opprobriously; to defame; to slander.
"The mob turned on him and scandalized his reputation by spreading false rumors about his character."
In plain English: To scandalize someone means to shock them with bad behavior that makes people lose respect for you.
"The news scandalized many people when they heard about the CEO's secret meetings with competitors."
From Middle French scandale ("indignation caused by misconduct or defamatory speech"), from Ecclesiastical Latin scandalum ("that on which one trips, cause of offense", literally "stumbling block"), from Ancient Greek σκάνδαλον (skándalon, "a trap laid for an enemy, a cause of moral stumbling"), from Proto-Indo-European *skand- ("to jump"). Cognate with Latin scandō ("to climb"). First attested from Old Northern French escandle, but the modern word is a reborrowing.