reputation
Americannoun
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the estimation in which a person or thing is held, especially by the community or the public generally; repute.
a man of good reputation.
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favorable repute; good name.
to ruin one's reputation by misconduct.
- Synonyms:
- recognition, honor, esteem, renown, distinction, fame
- Antonyms:
- disrepute
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a favorable and publicly recognized name or standing for merit, achievement, reliability, etc..
to build up a reputation.
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the estimation or name of being, having, having done, etc., something specified.
He has the reputation of being a shrewd businessman.
noun
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the estimation in which a person or thing is generally held; opinion
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a high opinion generally held about a person or thing; esteem
-
notoriety or fame, esp for some specified characteristic
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to be known or notorious, esp for promiscuity, excessive drinking, or the like
Usage
What does reputation mean? A reputation is the opinion people or a wider community have of a person, group of people, company, or similar, as in The restaurant had a reputation for slow service but excellent food.A reputation is also someone’s favorable standing in the community, as in Stella protected her business’s reputation by always giving excellent customer service.A reputation also means being known for something. In this sense, you can have a good reputation or a bad one, as in Hanging around with violent gangs will get you a reputation.Note that reputation is different from character. Your reputation is what other people think of you, while your character is your internal qualities. A reputation is often about perception, which means it’s not always factual. Knowing where a reputation comes from can help you determine if it’s deserved or not.Example: The university had a reputation for turning out influential artists.
Related Words
Reputation, character are often confused. Reputation, however, is the word which refers to the position one occupies or the standing that one has in the opinion of others, in respect to attainments, integrity, and the like: a fine reputation; a reputation for honesty. Character is the combination of moral and other traits which make one the kind of person one actually is (as contrasted with what others think of one): Honesty is an outstanding trait of his character. See credit.
Other Word Forms
- reputational adjective
- reputationless adjective
- self-reputation noun
Etymology
Origin of reputation
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English reputacioun, from Latin reputātiōn-, stem of reputātiō “computation, consideration,” from reputāt(us) “computed, considered” (past participle of reputāre “to compute, consider”; repute ) + -iō -ion
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.
When I asked him if his reputation as the godfather of Corsica was true, he replied: "Yes, I'm the godfather, but only to my grandchildren."
From BBC
The CEO has a strong reputation, stemming from his work in Latin America and with the coffee business.
From Barron's
As John Maynard Keynes observed, “Worldly wisdom teaches that it is better for reputation to fail conventionally than to succeed unconventionally.”
From MarketWatch
He added that "a finding of genocide would place an indelible stain on my country and its people", so the outcome was of "fundamental importance for my country's reputation and future".
From BBC
Most of us don’t, so we need to guard and polish our reputations constantly.
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.
