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)
-
disgraces,
present (3rd person singular)
-
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
-
self-disgracingadjective
-
undisgracedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
disgracesimple
-
disgracessimple
-
have disgracedperfect
-
has disgracedperfect
-
am disgracingprogressive
-
are disgracingprogressive
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is disgracingprogressive
-
have been disgracingperfect progressive
-
has been disgracingperfect progressive
Past
-
disgracedsimple
-
had disgracedperfect
-
was disgracingprogressive
-
were disgracingprogressive
-
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
"ITV and Lifted Entertainment, you're a total disgrace," he wrote on Instagram.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 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
It would have been a terrible disgrace to return like a hungry dog to my parents’ home.
From "Homeless Bird" by Gloria Whelan
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
The Monday column by Dylan Hernández, ostensibly about Kershaw making the All-Star team, disgraces the L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2022
What’s disappointing is the degree to which its exercise of muscle exposes and disgraces others.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 18, 2021
“We have a very different idea of what disgraces the name of wizard, Malfoy,” he said.
From "Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets" by J. K. Rowling
Once China's richest man, disgraced property tycoon Xu Jiayin looked worn as a court in China handed the now white-haired Evergrande founder a life sentence on Thursday.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
In early results from the special election runoff to complete the congressional term of disgraced former Rep. Eric Swalwell, state Sen. Aisha Wahab was in the lead late Tuesday by a narrow margin.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
Some victims of disgraced undertaker Robert Bush have not been refunded for fake funeral plans he sold to them, a court has heard.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 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
Revenants from forgotten wars, lost causes, failed rebellions, a brotherhood of the failed and the fallen, the disgraced and the disinherited.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
“I have learned hard lessons from this experience, including disgracing my family and destroying my career and reputation,” he wrote.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 28, 2025
He argues they ruined his life by painting him as a callous man who had broken the moral and legal rules of war, disgracing his country in the process.
From BBC ● May 30, 2023
"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
“Do you thus repay my kindness by disgracing yourself?” she demanded.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
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.
