Standard Lemma guide

scabrous

adj · 9 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈskeɪbɹəs/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈska-/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: /ˈskæbɹəs/
  • General-American: /ˈskeɪ-/
  • rhymes with -eɪbɹəs

1

adj

Meaning 1

Covered with scales or scabs; hence, very coarse or rough.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • After the incident with the gasoline, Noel’s burnt arm remained scabrous and was susceptible to infections.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: scabby, scaly, scurfy, reef, roynish, scabrate, scabrid, scabrous, scald, scalled, scurvy, abrasive, asperous, coarse, gimped, harsh, irregular, jagged, jaggy, rough, rugged, rugose, salebrous, scraggy, shagged, squarrose, uneven, unsmooth

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Disgusting, repellent.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively

Examples

  • The novel was a flagrantly scabrous bodice-ripper, and Rachael was ashamed to read it in public.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: repulsive, vile, abhorrant, abhorrent, bad, sickly, bum, demonic, disagreeable, disgusting, distasteful, foul, rancid, fulsome, gooey, grim, gro, grody, gross, grotty, harsh, loathsome, munted, nasty, nauseous, offensive, obnoxious, obscene, rank, repugnant, revolting, scabrous, sickening, strident, unpleasant

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Salacious, scandalous; concerning oneself with lurid or lascivious substance.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

adj

Meaning 4

Of music, writing, etc.: lacking refinement; unmelodious, unmusical.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: harsh, rough, absonant, cacophonic, cacophonical, cacophonious, cacophonous, discordant, disharmonious, dissonant, honeyed, horrisonant, horrisonous, immelodious, inharmonious, insonorous, noneuphonious, nonsonorous, raucous, scabrous, tuneless, uneuphonious, unmusical, unharmonious, unlistenable, unmellifluous, unmelodic, unmelodious, untunable, unsonorous

Antonyms: none provided

5

adj

Meaning 5

Difficult, thorny, troublesome, requiring tact.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

adj

Meaning 6

Covered with a crust of dirt or grime.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: US, figuratively

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

adj

Meaning 7

Having scabers.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: biology, natural-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

adjective satellite

Meaning 8

dealing with salacious or indecent material

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a scabrous novel

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

9

adjective satellite

Meaning 9

rough to the touch; covered with scales or scurf

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: lepidote, leprose, scaly, scurfy

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin scaber (“scabrous, rough; scabby, mangy, itchy”) (from scabō (“to scratch, scrape, abrade”), from Proto-Indo-European *skabh- (“to scratch”)) + English -ous; compare French scabreux, Late Latin scabrōsus.

Across languages

Translations

21 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: грапав (grapav) — covered with scales or scabs; very coarse or rough
  • German: schuppig — covered with scales or scabs; very coarse or rough
  • Hungarian: varas — covered with scales or scabs; very coarse or rough
  • Italian: scabro — covered with scales or scabs; very coarse or rough
  • Italian: scabroso — covered with scales or scabs; very coarse or rough
  • Latin: scabrōsus — covered with scales or scabs; very coarse or rough
  • Latvian: grumbuļains — covered with scales or scabs; very coarse or rough
  • Latvian: nelīdzens — covered with scales or scabs; very coarse or rough
  • Latvian: raupjš — covered with scales or scabs; very coarse or rough
  • Māori: whekewheke — covered with scales or scabs; very coarse or rough
  • Polish: pokryty strupami — covered with scales or scabs; very coarse or rough
  • Polish: chropowaty — covered with scales or scabs; very coarse or rough
  • Bulgarian: отвратителен (otvratitelen) — disgusting, repellent, repulsive, vile
  • French: scabreux — disgusting, repellent, repulsive, vile
  • Galician: escabroso — disgusting, repellent, repulsive, vile
  • Hungarian: undorító — disgusting, repellent, repulsive, vile
  • Hungarian: gusztustalan — disgusting, repellent, repulsive, vile
  • Latvian: neķītrs — disgusting, repellent, repulsive, vile
  • Polish: parchaty — disgusting, repellent, repulsive, vile
  • Polish: obrzydliwy — disgusting, repellent, repulsive, vile
  • Polish: ohydny — disgusting, repellent, repulsive, vile