disapprobation
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of disapprobation
First recorded in 1640–50; dis- 1 + approbation
Explanation
If you show up for Thanksgiving dinner an hour late, covered in mud from a tag football game, your parents will give you a look of disapprobation. This means they seriously disapprove of your actions, despite the fact that you scored the winning touchdown. Disapprobation is a noun for the state of total disapproval and condemnation. It is often used in conjunction with a moral or social offense. Acts such as stealing an old lady's purse, defying your teachers or parents, vandalizing, or being a lying sneak are all things that are going to earn you disapprobation. But if you decide to change your evil ways and do something wonderful to earn praise, you'll find yourself back on the side of approbation.
Vocabulary lists containing disapprobation
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To Kill a Mockingbird
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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.
Although we can and should ascribe different levels of responsibility to people based on how senior they were and how involved their work was, none of them should escape the public’s moral disapprobation.
From Slate • Oct. 8, 2020
Appropriation of Hinduism, quantum physics and all else is disapprobation.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 17, 2020
Hated in the Nation is Black Mirror’s excursion into public shame: it takes a series of targets who have brought disapprobation upon themselves.
From The Guardian • Oct. 25, 2016
Gail O’Neill, a journalist and former model, said that for some, Ms. Keys has become a Rorschach test, and the disapprobation for the singer’s personal choice comes from women who are measuring themselves against it.
From New York Times • Sep. 14, 2016
Vincent makes this painting in July, when the letters between the brothers are all about Sien, Tersteeg’s disapproval, Theo’s disapprobation.
From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman
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.
