opprobrium
[uh-proh-bree-uh m]
- the disgrace or the reproach incurred by conduct considered outrageously shameful; infamy.
- a cause or object of such disgrace or reproach.
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Origin of opprobrium
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for opprobrium
Contemporary Examples
Singled out for opprobrium was the planned exhibit on Margaret Sanger, birth-control crusader and godmother of Planned Parenthood.
In the real world, walking around with Google Glass is as likely to make you a target of opprobrium as it is a target of envy.
Just this weekend, in the wake of the Arizona shooting, he lobbed some opprobrium toward Sarah Palin via his Twitter account.
Historical Examples
Does she know of the opprobrium which must fall upon her head?
The Forsaken InnAnna Katharine Green
Every form in which shame and opprobrium could overwhelm her darling, haunted her.
RuthElizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell
Cock-eye, a term of opprobrium often applied to one that squints.
The Slang DictionaryJohn Camden Hotten
Far from me be the thought of lessening the opprobrium of the deed I am accused of.
The Indian ScoutGustave Aimard
He merited their opprobrium, simply by being a comrade to his men.
Recollections with the Third Iowa RegimentSeymour D. (Seymour Dwight) Thompson
opprobrium
- the state of being abused or scornfully criticized
- reproach or censure
- a cause of disgrace or ignominy
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Word Origin
C17: from Latin ob- against + probrum a shameful act
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for opprobrium
n.
1680s, from Latin opprobrium "disgrace, infamy, scandal, dishonor," from opprobare (see opprobrious).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper