repute
Americannoun
-
estimation in the view of others; reputation.
persons of good repute.
-
favorable reputation; good name; public respect.
- Synonyms:
- honor, distinction
- Antonyms:
- dishonor
verb (used with object)
verb
noun
Synonym Usage
See credit.
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
reputesimple
-
reputessimple
-
have reputedperfect
-
has reputedperfect
-
am reputingprogressive
-
are reputingprogressive
-
is reputingprogressive
-
have been reputingperfect progressive
-
has been reputingperfect progressive
Past
-
reputedsimple
-
had reputedperfect
-
was reputingprogressive
-
were reputingprogressive
-
had been reputingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of repute
1400–50; late Middle English reputen (v.) < Middle French reputer < Latin reputāre to compute, consider, equivalent to re- re- + putāre to think
Explanation
A person of great or fine repute is someone who's widely known and highly respected. The word has a stuffy feel, so you're better off describing a cellist as being of great repute than, say, a rapper or comedian. Like the words reputation and putative, repute comes from the Latin word putare, which means "consider." And the re? Let's say that the cellist Yo-Yo Ma is widely respected. That means a lot of people consider him to be great. He's considered great not just once but again (and again and again).
Vocabulary lists containing repute
Just Mercy
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!
This Week in Words: September 22 - 28, 2018
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!
Much Ado About Nothing
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.
See Examples For:
"But now, even an editor of repute and an acclaimed journalist like R Rajagopal has been denied his right to vote," he wrote on X.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026
An opera company’s stature, and even an art capital’s cultural repute, can rise or fall depending upon its ability to mount a “Ring” cycle.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2024
Brightline argued that Virgin had “ceased to constitute a brand of international high repute, largely because of matters related to the pandemic.”
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 12, 2023
Having been thoroughly Islamized, Ghana began to produce Muslim scholars, lawyers, and Quran readers of some repute, many traveling to Islamic Spain to study or going on pilgrimage to Mecca.
From Textbooks ● Apr. 19, 2023
Between Meereen and Volantis lay five hundred leagues of deserts, mountains, swamps, and ruins, plus Mantarys with its sinister repute.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
They shall see only silver and gold, houses and lands, reputes, supremacies, fames, and, as instrumental to these, the forms of logic and seemings of knowledge.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 07, No. 43, May, 1861 Creator by Various
O spare Antinous; The world reputes thee valiant, do not soyle All thy past nobleness with such a cowardize.
From The Laws of Candy Beaumont & Fletcher's Works (3 of 10) by Beaumont, Francis
For the Fathers were but men, and to speak the truth, their reputes and authorities did undervalue and suppress the books and writings of the sacred Apostles of Christ.
From Coleridge's Literary Remains, Volume 4. by Coleridge, Samuel Taylor
Yass, seh," Cornelius was tipsily remarking, "the journals o' the day reputes me to have absawb some paucity o' the school funds.
From John March, Southerner by Cable, George W.
Nobody reputes him to steal, an' I don't say he do.
From John March, Southerner by Cable, George W.
Last year, the country’s security service said it had “effectively disabled” a Russian submarine with an underwater drone—a reputed first in warfare.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
The night ended with the skies being lit up by the reputed largest fireworks display ever in the US.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026
Besides having foiled some 600 assassination attempts against late leader Fidel Castro, Cuba was reputed for its ability to infiltrate foreign intelligence services and recruit high-ranking informants, particularly Americans.
From Barron's ● Jan. 10, 2026
In Los Feliz for more than a decade, Adomian is reputed as a vocal comedy-scene supporter and cheerleader.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 15, 2025
He was reputed to be a hypochondriac and a deeply paranoid, frustrated man.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
Ouer his kinred, hee held a warie and charie care, which bountifully was expressed, when occasion so required, reputing himselfe, not onely principall of the family, but a generall father to them all.
From The Survey of Cornwall And an epistle concerning the excellencies of the English tongue by Carew, Richard
Whereby apeareth, how he esteemed learning, and what felicity he putte therin, reputing al the worlde saue him selfe to be inferiour to Diogenes.
From The Path-Way to Knowledg Containing the First Principles of Geometrie by Record, Robert
The friar now perceiving that Ser Ciappelletto had nothing more to say, gave him absolution and his blessing, reputing him for a most holy man, fully believing that all that he had said was true.
From The Decameron, Volume I by Rigg, J. M. (James Macmullen)
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.
