reprove

American  

[ri-proov] / rɪˈpruv /

verb (used with object)

reproved, reproving

1. to criticize or correct, especially gently.

   to reprove a pupil for making a mistake.

   Synonyms:

   admonish, reprehend, chide, upbraid, reprimand, scold

   Antonyms:

   praise

2. to disapprove of strongly; censure.

   to reprove a bad decision.

3. Obsolete. to disprove or refute.

---

verb (used without object)

reproved, reproving

1. to speak in reproof; administer a reproof.

reprove British  

/ rɪˈpruːv /

verb

1. (tr) to speak disapprovingly to (a person); rebuke or scold

---

Related Words

See reproach.

Other Word Forms

• reprovable adjective
• reprover noun
• reproving adjective
• reprovingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of reprove

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English reproven, from Old French reprover, from Late Latin reprobāre, equivalent to re- re- + probāre “to test,” ( prove )

Example Sentences

Alone, I reprove the thought as fantasy, a secret desire to sever myself from the man who has abandoned me twice.

From Salon • Dec. 5, 2021

That includes making do with less as they reestablish their place in society, rethink their careers and reprove their worth.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 7, 2021

Everyone on Capitol Hill is focused on squeezing months worth of work into several days, so the panel’s decision to clear two members and reprove two others was like an end-of-the-year document dump.

From Washington Post • Dec. 11, 2014

So you’ve got to really prove and reprove yourself over and over and over again just to get an opportunity.

From Slate • Oct. 29, 2012

Whilst these persons are vainly boasting of their respective conditions, they are encountered by three horrible spectres in the shape of dead human bodies covered with worms, who very severely reprove them for their arrogance.

From The Dance of Death Exhibited in Elegant Engravings on Wood with a Dissertation on the Several Representations of that Subject but More Particularly on Those Ascribed to Macaber and Hans Holbein by Douce, Francis