malicious gossip vs scandal

malicious gossip and scandal both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
malicious gossip	Yes	No	No	No
scandal	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, malicious gossip and scandal are synonyms defined as:

malicious gossip and scandal: disgraceful gossip about the private lives of other people

Other synonyms of malicious gossip include dirt.

malicious gossip (noun)	scandal (noun)
disgraceful gossip about the private lives of other people	disgraceful gossip about the private lives of other people
	a disgraceful event