opprobrium

noun

op·​pro·​bri·​um ə-ˈprō-brē-əm 

1

: something that brings disgrace

2

a

: public disgrace or ill fame that follows from conduct considered grossly wrong or vicious

Collaborators with the enemy did not escape the opprobrium of the townspeople.

b

: contempt, reproach

The bombing of the church was met with widespread opprobrium.

Did you know?

Unfamiliar with opprobrium? Tsk, tsk, tsk. Just kidding—unfamiliarity with a word is hardly grounds for, well, opprobrium. We're here to learn! Besides, opprobrium is quite formal and has few close relations in English. It comes from the Latin verb opprobrāre, which means "to reproach." That verb, in turn, comes from the noun probrum, meaning "a disgraceful act" or "reproach." The adjective form of opprobrium is opprobrious, which in English means "deserving of scorn" or "expressing contempt." One might commit an "opprobrious crime" or be berated with "opprobrious language," for example.

Synonyms of opprobrium

• scandal
• disgrace

Examples of opprobrium in a Sentence

They're going ahead with the plan despite public opprobrium.

saw no reason why “secretary” should suddenly become a term of opprobrium among the politically correct

Recent Examples on the Web

Meanwhile, many members of Congress skipped town, amid growing public opprobrium that, perhaps, crystallized most visibly in the gossip rag TMZ, which has gone full Woodward and Bernstein, running photos of lawmakers in the line of anything but duty. —Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 3 Apr. 2026

The policies pursued by the Islamic Republic in the 1990s—the death fatwa against Salman Rushdie and attempts to kill his associates, the terror bombing of a Jewish community center in Argentina—gained it nothing but opprobrium. —Eliot A. Cohen, The Atlantic, 23 Mar. 2026

Govan and Zumthor, who until now has never built a building in the US, inspired years of pearl clutching in Los Angeles over the development—one art critic even earned a Pulitzer Prize for his opprobrium. —Mark Guiducci, Vanity Fair, 6 Mar. 2026

The post was deleted after other commenters were more pointed in their opprobrium. —Bethy Squires, Vulture, 15 Feb. 2026

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin, derivative (with -ium, deverbal suffix of function or state) of opprobrāre "to bring up as a reproach," from ob- ob- + -probrāre, verbal derivative of probrum "reproach, insult, disgrace," probably noun derivative of *pro-fro- "brought up against someone (as a reproach)," going back to Indo-European *pro-bhr-o, from *pro- "before" + *bhr-, ablaut grade of *bher- "carry, bring" — more at for entry 1, bear entry 2

First Known Use

1647, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing opprobrium

• term of opprobrium

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Kids Definition

opprobrium

noun

op·​pro·​bri·​um ə-ˈprō-brē-əm 

: very strong disapproval