opprobrium

A cause, object, or situation of disgrace or shame.

Noun

  1. A cause, object, or situation of disgrace or shame.
    • As there are certain malignant diseases which have been denominated the opprobria of medicine, so there are particular maladies of our social condition, which may be considered the opprobria of legislation. Amongst the...
    • It was not that he was in danger of legal punishment or of beggary: he was in danger only of seeing disclosed to the judgment of his neighbours and the mournful perception of his wife certain facts of his past life...
    • Twelve years have now elapsed since the first assassinations which proved the existence of a criminal organization in our midst. From that day these outrages have never ceased, until now they have reached a pitch which...

    Synonyms: opprobry

  2. Disgrace or bad reputation arising from exceedingly shameful behaviour; ignominy.
    • Let me add that it is the great deſideratum, by which alone this form of government can be reſcued from the opprobrium under which it has ſo long labored, and be recommended to the eſteem and adoption of mankind. -...
    • I am content to suffer alone, while my sufferings shall endure: when I die, I am well satisfied that abhorrence and opprobrium should load my memory. - 1816 June – 1817 April/May (date written), [Mary Shelley], chapter...
    • Virgin [Atlantic] won't pay a penny in fines and actually emerges as a winner, since all the opprobrium of the rule-breach has been heaped on BA [British Airways]. - 2007 August 1, Robert Peston, quotee, “BA’s Price-fix...

    Synonyms: obloquy opprobry

  3. Scornful contempt or reproach; (countable) an instance of this.
    • […]from that strict rectitude in which I have been accustomed to walk and to view my actions, and which, notwithstanding the unjust opprobrium cast upon me, I find to be an invincible support and shield. - 1838,...
    • Some Johnny with brains produces a hypothesis. Everybody calls him a rotter at first. But he remains calm in the face of opprobrium. - 1908 August, George A. Birmingham [pseudonym; James Owen Hannay], chapter VII, in...

    Synonyms: blame castigation censure derision invective opprobry contempt despect despiciency despisal despisement disdain scorn

  4. Behaviour which is disgraceful or shameful.

Origin

PIE word *h₁epi Learned borrowing from Latin opprobrium, obprobrium (“a reproach, a taunt; disgrace, shame; dishonour; scandal”, noun), from opprobrō, obprobrō (“to reproach, upbraid; to taunt”) + -ium (suffix forming abstract nouns). Opprobrō, obprobrō are derived from ob- (prefix meaning ‘towards’) + probrum (“disgrace, shame; abuse, insult”, noun) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pro- (“forward; toward”) + *bʰer- (“to bear, carry”), in the sense of something brought up to reproach a person). The plural form opprobria is borrowed from Latin opprobria. Cognates * French opprobre * Italian obbrobrio * Portuguese ouprobio (obsolete), opróbrio * Spanish oprobrio (obsolete), oprobio

Forms

opprobriums opprobria

Related

opprobriate opprobrious opprobriously opprobriousness opprobry