Final answer:
From the provided context clues, the word 'egregious' means something extremely bad or offensive, suggesting the severity of the crime committed.
Step-by-step explanation:
Using context clues from the sentence "The crime he committed was egregious; he'll never recover from this horrendous scandal," we can infer that the word egregious means something very bad or offensive. The word 'horrendous' following 'egregious' suggests a similarity in meaning, reinforcing that the crime is notably terrible. Additionally, the phrase "he'll never recover from" implies that the action was extremely harmful or had serious negative consequences.