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:
“I always feel like you have to reprove yourself,” she said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 24, 2024
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
“You have to reprove yourself in order to establish your credibility.”
From New York Times ● Jan. 14, 2015
Everyone on Capitol Hill is focused on squeezing months worth of work into several days, so the panel’s decision to clear two members and reprove two others was like an end-of-the-year document dump.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 11, 2014
He could reprove folly with a frown that a man must be all a fool if he did not feel.
From Memorials of the Independent Churches in Northamptonshire with biographical notices of their pastors, and some account of the puritan ministers who laboured in the county. by Coleman, Thomas
“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
And when he mildly reproves the younger son for some particularly brattish behavior, Sophia indignantly tells him: "Try to be a parent, not a policeman."
From Time Magazine Archive
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
He at the same time attacks and reproves the sin of theft so common in all walks of life.
From Epistle Sermons, Vol. III Trinity Sunday to Advent by Luther, Martin
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
And being of the older generation, he could not be reproved.
From "The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck
“There’s a dad that’s not doing it,” she repeated — less incredulous than reproving now.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2025
When Donnersmarck reached for a Snickers, his mother shot him a reproving look.
From The New Yorker ● Jan. 14, 2019
I was the first one to giggle, and on my second giggle I got a sternly reproving look from the man sitting ahead of me.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 14, 2015
It makes him sound like a reproving parent.
From Slate ● Sep. 11, 2012
They bought groceries up the hill at the Thrift Market because they could not stand the reproving eyes of Lee Chong.
From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck
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.
