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
-
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
-
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:
Graham believes their activities will ruin the program and disgrace the memory of its founders.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
As a consequence, Lyalin was ordered to return to Moscow in disgrace.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
"It's a disgrace and we find as parents we are constantly facing brick walls when it comes to issues around special educational needs."
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026
President Isaac Herzog also condemned the attack in Qusra, while Israel's foreign ministry called the violence "a disgrace".
From Barron's ● Aug. 29, 2026
Fat, talkative, with the airs of a matron in disgrace, she renounced the sterile illusions of her cards and found peace and consolation in other people's loves.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
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
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
Rikers, which sits on the East River between the Bronx and Queens boroughs, primarily holds people who are awaiting trial in New York, as was the case for disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein.
From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026
“Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer” was an unpersuasive defense of one of New York’s several disgraced ex-governors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
Year: 2023 Compiled by: Nitish Pahwa Of note: The disgraced ex-mayor is still holding various objects aloft.
From Slate ● Oct. 7, 2026
If it fails to meet its annual production quota, it will be forced to sell its 49% stake in Miramax, the film company founded by disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein and his brother Bob.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
“Succeed, and your disgraced guardian can even rejoin the Council.”
From "Aru Shah and the End of Time" by Roshani Chokshi
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
“You are disgracing our city,” Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms told protesters.
From Seattle Times ● May 30, 2020
Papa would tell her to shut up, then Granny would interrupt and order him to quit disgracing Mama all the time.
From "Farewell to Manzanar" by Jeanne Houston
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
