bastard
bastard Lexical Profile
bastard Game Scores & Validity
• noun
(Informal, derogatory) A contemptible, obnoxious, or despicable person.
"He acted like a ruthless bastard during the contract negotiations."
(Informal) A person of a specified kind, typically used to express pity, envy, or grudging affection, or a difficult and unpleasant thing or situation.
"That steep mountain pass is a real bastard to climb in winter."
(Archaic or historical) A person born of parents not married to each other.
"In medieval feudal law, a bastard could not ordinarily inherit landed property."
• adjective
No longer in a pure or original form; debased, hybrid, or inferior.
"The inscription was written in a bastard form of late medieval Latin."
(Archaic or historical) Born of parents not married to each other; illegitimate.
"The historical chronicle recorded the succession dispute involving the king's bastard son."
Word Nuance & Usage
In modern usage, the literal sense of a child born out of wedlock is largely historical or archaic and considered offensive; in contemporary speech, it is primarily used as a strong derogatory insult for an unpleasant person.
• Rhymes for bastard
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed from Old French bastard, from Medieval Latin bastardus, likely derived from bastum ('packsaddle') with the pejorative suffix -ard, originally referring to a child conceived on a traveler's improvised packsaddle bed.