reproachfully

American  

[ri-prohch-fuh-lee] / rɪˈproʊtʃ fə li /

adverb

1. in a way that expresses disapproval, blame, or censure.

   She did not answer, just looked at him reproachfully.

   A few of the other students glared reproachfully at me sitting in the back of the room.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unreproachfully
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of reproachfully

reproachful ( def. ) + -ly

Explanation

When someone looks at you reproachfully, they’re expressing disappointment or disapproval, like the way your dog might look at you after you forget to feed him. The word reproachfully comes from the Middle English word reprochen, meaning "to rebuke" or "to blame." When someone looks at you reproachfully, they’re expressing disappointment or disapproval, letting you know they’re not happy with something you did or didn’t do. Picture the way a friend might look at you after you cancel plans at the last minute, or the way a teacher speaks to someone when they forget to turn in their homework for the third time in one week.

Example Sentences

Reproachfully, he wrote Drake: Why had his permission not been asked to use St. Paul's?

From Time Magazine Archive

A prodigy astonishing Reproachfully admonishing Those, wicked, heartless married men who ridicule their wives.

From The Book of Humorous Verse by Wells, Carolyn

Reproachfully he looked at her, turning first red, then white, as anger chased annoyance through his soul.

From The Tavern Knight by Sabatini, Rafael

Reproachfully he fixed his eyes on his sister.

From O. T. a Danish Romance by Andersen, H. C. (Hans Christian)

Reproachfully, and with peculiar emphasis, the pastor then pronounced the name of this unknown friend: Jesus.

From My Life — Volume 1 by Wagner, Richard