opprobrium
Americannoun
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the disgrace or the reproach incurred by conduct considered outrageously shameful; infamy.
-
a cause or object of such disgrace or reproach.
noun
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the state of being abused or scornfully criticized
-
reproach or censure
-
a cause of disgrace or ignominy
Etymology
Origin of opprobrium
1650–60; < Latin: reproach, equivalent to op- op- + probr ( um ) infamy, disgrace + -ium -ium
Explanation
If you go against or oppose what's good, you might earn opprobrium — the opposite of getting attention for something good. Bad behavior leads to opprobrium. If you throw a soft drink off the theater balcony, the opprobrium might keep you from getting dates to the movies. Even though the words aren't related, the "opp-" of the word opprobrium sounds a bit like the "app" part of "inappropriate." Opprobrium isn't an action that leads to disgrace, it's something that comes from the inappropriate thing that was done. A very inappropriate act leads to opprobrium for the person who did the act. "Infamy" — extreme dishonor, often with lasting consequences — is a synonym for opprobrium.
Vocabulary lists containing opprobrium
Frankenstein
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Jane Eyre
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100 SAT words Beginning with "O"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The opprobrium that ensued in the course of a shamelessly one-sided trial shredded their reputations, cost them their jobs and led to an incurable banishment from public life.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026
For that reason, I’m constantly amazed and grateful, given that this column relies on people sharing their stories and risking opprobrium from strangers by asking for advice.
From MarketWatch • Dec. 23, 2025
Honor codes, which apply not just to whole societies but to specific groups within them, are enforced externally with social opprobrium, and internally by shame.
From Slate • Aug. 7, 2025
The opprobrium directed at boxers Khelif and Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan was not as easily countered.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 11, 2024
The age of strikes had not yet arrived, and they preferred opprobrium with a little money to honour and an empty treasury.
From Queens of the French Stage by Williams, H. Noel
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
