disgrace
Americannoun
-
the loss of respect, honor, or esteem; ignominy; shame.
the disgrace of criminals.
- Synonyms:
- taint, notoriety, disapprobation, disapproval
- Antonyms:
- honor
-
a person, act, or thing that causes shame, reproach, or dishonor or is dishonorable or shameful.
-
the state of being out of favor; exclusion from favor, confidence, or trust.
courtiers and ministers in disgrace.
verb (used with object)
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disgraces,
present (3rd person singular)
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disgraced,
past participle, past
-
disgracing
present participle
noun
-
a condition of shame, loss of reputation, or dishonour
-
a shameful person, thing, or state of affairs
-
exclusion from confidence or trust
he is in disgrace with his father
verb
-
to bring shame upon; be a discredit to
-
to treat or cause to be treated with disfavour
Synonym Usage
Disgrace, dishonor, ignominy, infamy imply a very low position in the opinion of others. Disgrace implies the disfavor of others: to be in disgrace. Dishonor implies a stain on honor or honorable reputation; it relates especially to the person's own conduct: He preferred death to dishonor. Ignominy is disgrace in which one's situation invites contempt: the ignominy of being discovered cheating. Infamy is shameful notoriety, or baseness of action or character that is widely known and recognized: The children never outlived the father's infamy.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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disgracernoun
-
predisgracenoun
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self-disgracenoun
-
quasi-disgracedadjective
-
self-disgracedadjective
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self-disgracingadjective
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undisgracedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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disgracesimple
-
disgracessimple
-
have disgracedperfect
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has disgracedperfect
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am disgracingprogressive
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are disgracingprogressive
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is disgracingprogressive
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have been disgracingperfect progressive
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has been disgracingperfect progressive
Past
-
disgracedsimple
-
had disgracedperfect
-
was disgracingprogressive
-
were disgracingprogressive
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had been disgracingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of disgrace
1540–50; (noun) < Middle French < Italian disgrazia, equivalent to dis- dis- 1 + grazia < Latin gratia ( see grace); (v.) < Middle French disgracier < Italian disgraziare, derivative of disgrazia
Explanation
Use the verb disgrace to say that someone has brought shame upon himself. Your brother might disgrace himself at the family reunion by being rude to your Uncle Bob. You probably notice that grace makes up a big part of disgrace. Combine this with the dis- prefix, meaning “the opposite of,” and you get a word that involves shame and dishonor. Think of disgrace as a kind of fall from grace — it’s what happens when you do something that causes you to lose favor or damages your reputation. You could disgrace yourself by losing your tennis match badly, or you could disgrace yourself by cheating on an exam.
Vocabulary lists containing disgrace
"The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet," Vocabulary from Act 1
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Excerpts from "The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet"
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"The Sporting Spirit"
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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.
See Examples For:
The painter and writer Lachlan Goudie told BBC Scotland News the possibility of the art school not being restored to its former self was a disgrace.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
"I'm aware of the report, the president is too, I spoke with him about it. He believes it's deeply unfortunate and frankly a disgrace," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.
From Barron's ● Jul. 16, 2026
Disraeli, who admired Lord Byron and cut a similarly romantic figure, began as a novelist whose financial speculations drove him nearly into disgrace.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
Just two months after issuing that ruling, the judge resigned in disgrace rather than face removal from the bench.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026
“I might be a disgrace as a mother, but you’re not winning any Father of the Year contests, either—traidor!”
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
The half-hour series stars Glen Powell as Russ Holliday, a former star college quarterback for a big-name team who disgraces himself during the Rose Bowl.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2025
Officers aren’t allowed to conduct themselves in a way that personally disgraces them or dishonors the military profession, according to military law cited by the newspaper.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 14, 2022
What’s disappointing is the degree to which its exercise of muscle exposes and disgraces others.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 18, 2021
The real Sin-Eater is caught by Spider-Man, though, which disgraces Brock and causes him to hate Spider-Man.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2018
But they had sent her back to her own mother and father, a mysterious act hinting at disgraces not told me.
From "The Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston
A prominent actress and survivor of child sexual abuse has criticised disgraced newsreader Huw Edwards for competing at this year's National Eisteddfod, claiming that, had he won, it would have been "catastrophic".
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
Sepp Blatter, Infantino's disgraced predecessor, drew attention to the American connection.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
In November, Larry Summers, the former president of Harvard University, stepped down from OpenAI’s board following the release of emails linking him to the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
A New York judge declared a mistrial in disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein’s rape case in its third trial, after a jury said “no one is going to change where they stand.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
They all knew that she’d betrayed her mother and disgraced herself.
From "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini
Jurors accepted prosecutors' argument that Webster had "spearheaded" an attack on police lines and that he was responsible for "disgracing a democracy that he once fought honourably to protect and serve".
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2022
"The disgracing of a dead body and setting it on fire are strictly forbidden in Islam," the court ruled.
From Reuters ● Apr. 19, 2022
“You are disgracing this city, you are disgracing the life of George Floyd and every other person who has been killed in this country,” she added.
From Fox News ● May 30, 2020
“You are disgracing our city,” Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms told protesters.
From Seattle Times ● May 30, 2020
The only ones not in a party mood were Clarisse and her cabinmates, whose poisonous looks told me theyd never forgive me for disgracing their dad.
From "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan
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.
