bastard 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of bastardnext
as in unacceptable
falling short of a standard a bastard knockoff of a far superior thriller

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

bastard

2 of 2

noun

ˈba-stərd How to pronounce bastard (audio)
1
as in jerk
a person whose behavior is offensive to others that bastard's behavior was completely out of line

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in guy
an adult male human being that lucky bastard has won the raffle three times in a row

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for bastard
  1. unacceptable
  2. jerk
  3. guy
  4. poor
  5. dog
  6. male
  7. wrong
  8. clown
Adjective
  • With a team that has a margin of error as small as the Dolphins, these penalties are unacceptable.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Likewise, the underlying crisis of commercially unacceptable risk in the Strait isn’t anywhere close to being resolved.
    — David Faris, Washington Post, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of unacceptable
Noun
  • Bella’s childhood friend Angus (Jake Simmance), a corporate jerk, condescendingly probes Johnny about his career.
    — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2026
  • There was significant excitement over the first-look footage revealing perhaps the world’s biggest movie star transforming himself to become a portly, gray-haired jerk in an offbeat feature focusing on climate change.
    — Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of jerk
Noun
  • The only way to make the bad guys sweat is to hand them a subpoena — or, at the least, to depict them unflatteringly on television.
    — Noel Murray, Vulture, 9 Oct. 2026
  • My first boyfriend left me high and dry just before it, and another guy took me.
    — Jeremy Rellosa, Curbed, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of guy
Adjective
  • Such diagnoses can carry an extraordinarily poor neonatal prognosis.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Road accidents are frequent in Africa’s most populous country, in part due to poor road conditions and lax enforcement of traffic laws.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of poor
Noun
  • Sheriff’s cadaver dogs, deputies with shovels and a backhoe were seen at work.
    — Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Lead and cadmium exposure has been linked to canine cancer, a leading cause of death in dogs.
    — Sandee LaMotte, CNN Money, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of dog
Noun
  • An OutKick reporter pressed both White and Fire coach Alex Sarama on their stances on whether biological males should be allowed to compete in women's sports.
    — Jackson Thompson OutKick, FOXNews.com, 3 Oct. 2026
  • According to police, the suspect was a white male who had a bike and fled the scene.
    — Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of male
Adjective
  • British police acknowledged applying for the warrants under the wrong statutory provision, the judge said while stipulating that the misconduct investigation against the king's brother could continue.
    — Steve Hendrix, Washington Post, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Doctors in Tennessee and Republican state senators called for the state to pause executions, because the chances of one going catastrophically wrong were so high.
    — Maya Foa, Chicago Tribune, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of wrong
Noun
  • The brand featured a thematic clown mascot and the beloved product was sold in famously reusable glassware.
    — Joey Skladany, Southern Living, 28 Sep. 2026
  • What followed were Zoom-inclusive mediation meetings, the revelation of tens of thousands of dollars of debt, and something about clown school.
    — Sam Stone, Bon Appetit Magazine, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of clown
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

bassoonists
bastard
bastardize
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Bastard.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bastard. Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
a cup of tea and a golf ball on tee side by side
Quiz: Sounds Like... Choose the word that sounds like it fits the clue...
See All