What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Impertinent vs Scandalous - What's the difference?

impertinent | scandalous |

As adjectives the difference between impertinent and scandalous

is that impertinent is insolent, ill-mannered while scandalous is wrong, immoral, causing a scandal.

As a noun impertinent

is an impertinent individual.

impertinent

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • insolent, ill-mannered
  • * Tillotson
    • things that are impertinent to us
  • * Jeremy Taylor
    • How impertinent that grief was which served no end!
  • irrelevant (opposite of pertinent)

    • Usage notes

    Although, historically, definition 2 was the original (derived from the French below) usage; meaning gradually changed to definition 1. More recently general usage has come to, once again, incorporate definition 2. As many older speakers will consider definition 2 incorrect, avoiding the word altogether may be advisable. The construction "not pertinent" is one possible alternative.

    Synonyms

    * See also

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An impertinent individual.
  • * (Maria Edgeworth)
    • comfortably recessed from curious impertinents
    ----

    scandalous

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • wrong, immoral, causing a scandal
  • * 1884, Mark Twain, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
    • The thing made a big stir in the town, too, and a good many come out flatfooted and said it was scandalous to separate the mother and the children that way.
  • malicious, defamatory
  • * 1592, Thomas Kyd, The Spanish Tragedie
    • These be the scandalous reports of such / As loves not me, and hate my lord too much.
  • * 1887, Marie Corelli, Thelma
    • I always disregard gossip--it is generally scandalous , and seldom true.
  • *{{quote-news
    • , year=2012 , date=June 26 , author=Genevieve Koski , title=Music: Reviews: Justin Bieber: Believe , work=The Onion AV Club citation , page= , passage=The closest Believe gets to scandalous is on the deluxe-edition bonus track “Maria,” a response song to the woman who accused Bieber of fathering her child in 2011.}}

    Derived terms

    * scandalously * scandalousness