reprobate

[ rep-ruh-beyt ]

See synonyms for: reprobate reprobated reprobates reprobating on Thesaurus.com

noun

a depraved, unprincipled, or wicked person: a drunken reprobate.
a person rejected by God and beyond hope of salvation.

adjective

morally depraved; unprincipled; bad.
rejected by God and beyond hope of salvation.

verb (used with object),rep·ro·bat·ed, rep·ro·bat·ing.

to disapprove, condemn, or censure.
(of God) to reject (a person), as for sin; exclude from the number of the elect or from salvation.

Origin of reprobate

1400–50; late Middle English reprobaten<Latin reprobātus; past participle of reprobāre to reprove

Other words for reprobate

1	tramp, scoundrel, wastrel, miscreant, wretch, rascal, cad, rogue
2	outcast, pariah
3	wicked, sinful, evil, corrupt
5	reprehend, blame, rebuke, reprove

See synonyms for reprobate on Thesaurus.com

Other words from reprobate

rep·ro·ba·cy [rep-ruh-buh-see], /ˈrɛp rə bə si/, rep·ro·bate·ness, noun
rep·ro·bat·er, noun
un·rep·ro·bat·ed, adjective

Words Nearby reprobate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use reprobate in a sentence

His effort to lead the league to a more enlightened stance is exactly why a bigot-reprobate like Jon Gruden deemed him a “f----t,” a word sure to rile him.
In NFL’s latest crisis of public trust, Roger Goodell is nowhere to be found | Sally Jenkins | October 18, 2021 | Washington Post
I remember calling him an old reprobate and he said 'not so much of the old'.
Jimmy Savile Scandal Reaches Prince Charles | Tom Sykes | October 31, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
Afterward, there is rarely satisfaction, just final proof that Johnny Flameout is a reprobate.
Cavalcade of Bad Boy Flameouts | Eric Dezenhall | March 4, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
The people who were predestined to be lost they described as reprobate, and this word we still use, but with a different meaning.
Stories That Words Tell Us | Elizabeth O'Neill
A reprobate nowadays is a person who is looked upon as hopelessly bad, and the word is also sometimes used jokingly.
Stories That Words Tell Us | Elizabeth O'Neill

I know he is a hot-blooded old reprobate—that father of yours.
Dross | Henry Seton Merriman
What's me or that drunken old reprobate out there to the likes of you?
An Old Man's Love | Anthony Trollope
That a base reprobate should become a Marquis and a peer of Parliament was in accordance with the constitution of the country.
The Prime Minister | Anthony Trollope

British Dictionary definitions for reprobate

reprobate

/ (ˈrɛprəʊˌbeɪt) /

adjective

morally unprincipled; depraved
Christianity destined or condemned to eternal punishment in hell

noun

an unprincipled, depraved, or damned person
a disreputable or roguish person: the old reprobate

verb(tr)

to disapprove of; condemn
(of God) to destine, consign, or condemn to eternal punishment in hell

Origin of reprobate

C16: from Late Latin reprobātus held in disfavour, from Latin re- + probāre to approve 1

Derived forms of reprobate

reprobacy (ˈrɛprəbəsɪ), noun
reprobater, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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