reprove
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
verb
Synonym Usage
See reproach.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
reprovesimple
-
reprovessimple
-
have reprovedperfect
-
has reprovedperfect
-
am reprovingprogressive
-
are reprovingprogressive
-
is reprovingprogressive
-
have been reprovingperfect progressive
-
has been reprovingperfect progressive
Past
-
reprovedsimple
-
had reprovedperfect
-
was reprovingprogressive
-
were reprovingprogressive
-
had been reprovingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of reprove
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English reproven, from Old French reprover, from Late Latin reprobāre, equivalent to re- re- + probāre “to test,” ( see prove)
Explanation
If you get into trouble and are sent to the principal’s office, be prepared for the principal to reprove you for your behavior. To reprove is to scold, reprimand, or — in plain English — “chew out.” Reprove is a verb used in the same way as “scold,” or “dress down.” To reprove is to express your dissatisfaction or disapproval with something. It’s a less severe word than denounce or decry. It is closer to the verb criticize. Your parents might reprove you for a minor offense like not cleaning your room or chewing with your mouth open. And, for the record, reprove is not the root word prove with the prefix re- as if to mean “prove again.” If you use it that way, someone would likely reprove you.
Vocabulary lists containing reprove
"Of Plymouth Plantation," Vocabulary from the historical account
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100 SAT words Beginning with "R"
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"Uprising," Vocabulary from the historical novel
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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:
Alone, I reprove the thought as fantasy, a secret desire to sever myself from the man who has abandoned me twice.
From Salon ● Dec. 5, 2021
That includes making do with less as they reestablish their place in society, rethink their careers and reprove their worth.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2021
Scalia’ll reprove ya With some jurisprudential effluvia, Then, with scowling harrumph And a baleful galumph, He’ll trudge homeward to Antediluvia.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 9, 2015
“You have to reprove yourself in order to establish your credibility.”
From New York Times ● Jan. 14, 2015
V. Yet with his courage and his power Combined such sweetness and such love, He could revere the simplest flower, The vilest sinners firm reprove.
From Life Without and Life Within or, Reviews, Narratives, Essays, and poems. by Fuller, Margaret
“I could do without becoming known as the man who has a hugger for a son,” he reproves when Cal tries to embrace him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026
Jack’s shoulders are slumped forward, his arms crossed, while John’s maternal aunt Annie reproves him with an extended finger.
From New York Times ● Jan. 16, 2018
He reproves us for faults which would not be faults if he could talk to his neighbors in Vermont, to his fellow writers, his fellow men.
From Time Magazine Archive
In a club a testy gentleman behind whose favorite armchair a bomb has just torn a gaping hole in floor and ceiling reproves an anxious flunkey: "I'm perfectly aware of that."
From Time Magazine Archive
When the teacher reproves a child, every man, woman, and child feels it his or her duty to yell out too at the offender and tell him to obey the teacher.
From Women of Achievement Written for the Fireside Schools by Brawley, Benjamin Griffith
Mr. Meadows was also reproved by the House Ethics Committee in 2018 for mishandling sexual harassment allegations against a top aide.
From New York Times ● Mar. 7, 2020
Both lawmakers were reproved by the Ethics Committee.”
From Fox News ● Nov. 16, 2018
“We must all take responsibility for using facts correctly and for verifying anything we spread,” Stefan Lofven, the Swedish prime minister, reproved Trump at a news conference.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 21, 2017
He was immediately reproved by scores of his readers, as well as by a commentary in The Economist, “The World Is His Parking Spot,” that applied basic social cost-benefit analysis.
From New York Times ● Jul. 4, 2011
But she also felt reproved for her homebound boredom.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
People also lose coverage, however, because constantly proving and reproving eligibility is onerous — especially if you’re poor, not particularly adept at navigating red tape or don’t have stable housing.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 3, 2022
When Donnersmarck reached for a Snickers, his mother shot him a reproving look.
From The New Yorker ● Jan. 14, 2019
But she does put it to coolly subversive use. At social gatherings she turns her grin into a shield, a mask of contentment that can clench, without warning, into a reproving stare.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 26, 2017
From soccer mom reproving a child who had mislaid his lunchbox she, very briefly, became Torquemada dealing with a mentally deficient suspect.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 19, 2013
“Jo does use such slang words!” observed Amy, with a reproving look at the long figure stretched on the rug.
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
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.
