disgraceful
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of disgraceful
Explanation
Anything disgraceful is shameful or shocking. No matter how angry you are at your younger sister, it would be disgraceful to destroy the Lego creation she painstakingly built. The adjective disgraceful is good for describing completely unacceptable behavior — if you do something disgraceful, you should feel ashamed about it. The internment of Americans of Japanese descent during World War II was a disgraceful episode in U.S. history. The word comes from the verb disgrace, "bring shame or reproach upon" or "a loss of grace."
Vocabulary lists containing disgraceful
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.
What we can learn from a disgraceful chapter in American legal history.
From Slate ● Aug. 15, 2026
Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said the IOPC's decision brought an end to "almost four years of uncertainty" for Blake, calling the accountability process for police officers "disgraceful".
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
President Lee Jae Myung had expressed outrage "by this inhumane and disgraceful conduct" on X amid the backlash.
From Barron's ● Jun. 15, 2026
Goldsborough said it was "disgraceful" to describe Lammy in that way.
From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2026
But he knew he had attained it and he knew it was not disgraceful and it carried no loss of true pride.
From "The Old Man and The Sea" by Ernest Hemingway
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.
