disgrace

verb

dis·grace | \ di-ˈskrās

, dis-ˈgrās\

disgraced; disgracing; disgraces

Definition of disgrace

(Entry 1 of 2)

transitive verb

1 archaic : to humiliate by a superior showing thy whiteness … shall disgrace the swan— Robert Browning

2 : to be a source of shame to Your actions disgraced the family.

3 : to cause to lose favor (see favor entry 1 sense 1a(2)) or standing was disgraced by the hint of scandal

disgrace

noun

Definition of disgrace (Entry 2 of 2)

1a : the condition of one fallen from grace : the condition of one who has lost honor (see honor entry 1 sense 1a) left in disgrace

b : loss of grace, favor, or honor brought disgrace upon the family

2 : a source of shame Your manners are a disgrace. He's a disgrace to the profession.

Other Words from disgrace Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about disgrace

Keep scrolling for more

Choose the Right Synonym for disgrace

Noun

disgrace, dishonor, disrepute, infamy, ignominy mean the state or condition of suffering loss of esteem and of enduring reproach. disgrace often implies humiliation and sometimes ostracism. sent home in disgrace dishonor emphasizes the loss of honor that one has enjoyed or the loss of self-esteem. preferred death to life with dishonor disrepute stresses loss of one's good name or the acquiring of a bad reputation. a once proud name fallen into disrepute infamy usually implies notoriety as well as exceeding shame. a day that lives in infamy ignominy stresses humiliation. the ignominy of being arrested

Examples of disgrace in a Sentence

Verb

Many feel that the mayor has disgraced the town government by accepting personal favors from local businesspeople. He felt he had disgraced himself by failing at school.

Noun

The secret was protected out of a fear of political disgrace. Many feel that the mayor has brought disgrace upon the town. She was forced to leave in disgrace. His table manners are a disgrace. The health-care system is a national disgrace.

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Every time the president disgraces himself or outrages the nation, Democrats run to the cameras to register their disgust. — Alex Shephard, The New Republic, "House Leadership Is Looking Flakey," 17 June 2019 And then Ohr, even after Steele has been discredited and disgraced, starts working with him. — Fox News, "Rudy Giuliani on McGahn's testimony, origins of Russia probe," 19 Aug. 2018 Numerous celebrities, sports stars and politicians have been publicly disgraced after appearing to try to dodge the draft. — Eun-young Jeong, WSJ, "South Korean Soccer Star Needs to Beat Japan or Report for Duty," 30 Aug. 2018 Any other outcome would disgrace the ruling coalition or drive Italy out of the eurozone, wreaking havoc on Europe’s banks. — Holman W. Jenkins, WSJ, "The Eurozone’s 19th Nervous Breakdown," 9 Nov. 2018 An influential Friday Prayer leader, Ahmad Alamolhoda, said the dance performance had been planned by enemies set on disgracing the Shiite saint that the event was meant to honor, Fateme Zahra. — Thomas Erdbrink, New York Times, "Tehran’s Mayor Watched a Dance Recital. Now He’s the Ex-Mayor.," 14 Mar. 2018 Most England fans just shrugged - after all, their side had faced Italy and Uruguay in successive matches, without completely disgracing themselves in either of those 2-1 defeats. — SI.com, "An Urgent Message to England Fans at the World Cup - Please Calm Down & Get Real!," 27 June 2018 With the exception of a few Governors like Baker, Hogan and Kasich it is filled with feckless cowards who disgrace and dishonor the legacies of the party’s greatest leaders. — Tara Golshan, Vox, "A prominent GOP strategist has left the Republican Party over family separations at the border," 20 June 2018 As if that weren’t enough, his son had disgraced himself by spreading an unhinged conspiracy theory involving child molestation, the Democratic Party, and a popular D.C. pizzeria. — Eric Levitz, Daily Intelligencer, "Beautiful: This Former Criminal Just Got the Second Chance of a Lifetime," 10 July 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Eventually, because of events that followed those arrests, President Richard Nixon resigned in disgrace. — Keith Sharon, The Mercury News, "The man who stayed late: The Watergate story you’ve never heard," 17 June 2019 By his late 30s, the same piercing humor and cool impertinence that had marked his ascent up the social ladder also marked his descent into disgrace. — Ignacio Peyró, National Geographic, "This 19th-century London dandy caused a style revolution," 18 June 2019 The implication of libel is different than libel per se, or libel that on its face exposes a plaintiff to public disgrace, The Post writes. — Max Londberg, Cincinnati.com, "Court date set in Nick Sandmann's defamation case against Washington Post," 7 June 2019 The sad fact of the matter is that, organizationally speaking, Congress is a disgrace. — Jay Cost, National Review, "Congress Should Fix Itself before Reclaiming Its Power," 14 June 2019 But in the rush to judgment of the modern shaming mill, disgrace is no longer sufficient. — Lionel Shriver, Harper's magazine, "Cruel and Unusual Punishment," 10 Feb. 2019 To protect our draft-dodging president from the sight of a ship flying the colors of the United States of America is a disgrace to our nation and to the men and women that serve us every day around the world, and to and their families. — Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, "Letter: Hiding a U.S. Navy ship for a draft-dodger a disgrace," 4 June 2019 This confirmation process has become a national disgrace. — Alvin Chang, Vox, "Every time Ford and Kavanaugh answered the question — and didn't answer the question," 28 Sep. 2018 This confirmation process has become a national disgrace. — Alvin Chang, Vox, "Every time Ford and Kavanaugh answered the question — and didn't answer the question," 28 Sep. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'disgrace.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.