noun
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disapproval, blame, or censure
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Christianity condemnation to eternal punishment in hell; rejection by God
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of reprobation
1400–50; late Middle English reprobacion < Late Latin reprobātiōn- (stem of reprobātiō ) rejection, equivalent to reprobāt ( us ) ( see reprobate) + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
Reprobation means disapproval. Severe disapproval. If you want to find out what it means for yourself, try telling your nasty boss what you really think of him. Originally reprobation was a religious word meaning "rejection by God." The root word probate comes from the Latin word probare, which means "prove." A probate is someone who proves his worth. A reprobate was someone who'd proved himself to be worthless, and was therefore condemned to eternal suffering in Hell. Pretty harsh, huh? Today, a form of the word can even be used affectionately: "You old reprobate!"
Vocabulary lists containing reprobation
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
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The Federalist Papers, No. 47 by James Madison
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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.
Galileo “suffered reprobation from the church, not only because he supported the Copernican view,” the author writes, “but because he published his antiauthoritarian, and somewhat snarky, science books in Italian” as opposed to Latin.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
President Alejandro Giammattei was deeply unpopular at home, but other than occasional statements of reprobation from the United States and Europe, had managed to consolidate his control of the justice system with little consequence.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 13, 2023
Public shaming and reprobation of a "perpetrator" is something new, and changes all the rules.
From New York Times ● Feb. 21, 2018
His defense of the truth, however, apparently was enough to earn him Gingrich’s reprobation.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 26, 2017
There was no police investigation nor social reprobation.
From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
