1. people born to parents who are not married to each other
Usage: archaic; potentially offensive
2. unpleasant or despicable people
Usage: informal; offensive

Examples

• In medieval times, bastards could not inherit their father’s titles.
• The novel explores the social stigma faced by illegitimate children.
• Historical records show many royal bastards throughout European history.
• Those bastards cheated us out of our money.
• He called them bastards for abandoning the project.
• The poor bastards never had a fair chance in life.