adjective
-
full of or expressing reproach
-
archaic deserving of reproach; disgraceful
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of reproachful
Explanation
Someone who's reproachful is deeply disapproving. A reproachful look on your mom's face is a sign that you've disappointed her and might be in trouble. When you criticize your friend's decision to borrow her parents' car without asking, you probably sound reproachful. You might not even need to speak — a reproachful glance is sometimes enough to communicate your disapproval. When you reproach someone, you express disappointment in them, and to be reproachful is to be "full of reproach." The root word is the Old French reproche, "blame, shame, or disgrace."
Vocabulary lists containing reproachful
Power Suffix: -ful
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Catching Fire
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
The sister and daughter she plays in “Showing Up” may be a more naturalistic, tamped-down figure, but with her reproachful silences and occasional bursts of fury, she illuminates a different variant of the same condition.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 6, 2023
That reputation is understandable when you read Coward’s reproachful articles addressed to the Angry Young Men of post-World War II British drama, urging them to “Consider the public.”
From Washington Post • Oct. 27, 2021
One of the girls, Lily, starts crying, and the camera pans to Chloe as she pulls a reproachful face.
From BBC • Sep. 25, 2021
For the rest of the trip, I went barefaced and endured the reproachful glares of my fellow shoppers.
From The Verge • Apr. 8, 2020
Sometimes Deborah sat with his mother, watching him with eyes that were no less patient and reproachful.
From "Go Tell It on the Mountain" by James Baldwin
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.
