The Oxford Thesaurus An A-Z Dictionary of Synonyms - scandal n.

1) shame, disgrace, embarrassment, sin, outrage: It is a scandal how much of the money raised for charity goes into the pockets of the fund-raisers. 2) discredit, damage, calumny, ignominy, obloquy, dishonour, degradation, disrepute, infamy: The scandal resulting from their being found together could never be lived down. The breath of scandal never touched her. 3) slander, libel, aspersion, innuendo, insinuation, abuse, dirt, defilement, defamation, slur, smear, taint, blemish, spot, stigma, smirch, black mark or spot, blot (on the escutcheon) , (badge of) infamy, skeleton in the cupboard, Brit blot on one's copybook: His cowardice brought scandal to the name that could never be lived down.