disgrace 1 of 2

1
2
as in scandal
a cause of shame the exposure of his criminal record was a huge disgrace for the councilman

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

3
as in pity
a regrettable or blameworthy act it's a disgrace to let all the leftover food from the banquet go to waste, so let's deliver it to the homeless shelter

Synonyms & Similar Words

disgrace

2 of 2

verb

Synonym Chooser

How does the noun disgrace differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of disgrace are dishonor, disrepute, ignominy, and infamy. While all these words 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

When could dishonor be used to replace disgrace?

While in some cases nearly identical to disgrace, dishonor emphasizes the loss of honor that one has enjoyed or the loss of self-esteem.

preferred death to life with dishonor

In what contexts can disrepute take the place of disgrace?

In some situations, the words disrepute and disgrace are roughly equivalent. However, disrepute stresses loss of one's good name or the acquiring of a bad reputation.

a once proud name fallen into disrepute

Where would ignominy be a reasonable alternative to disgrace?

The synonyms ignominy and disgrace are sometimes interchangeable, but ignominy stresses humiliation.

the ignominy of being arrested

When is infamy a more appropriate choice than disgrace?

The words infamy and disgrace can be used in similar contexts, but infamy usually implies notoriety as well as exceeding shame.

a day that lives in infamy

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of disgrace
Noun
Yes, this could be her situationship with disgrace-to-my-first-name Zack Bia. Zach Schiffman, Vulture, 3 Oct. 2025 Powers is really a one-time star quarterback Russ Holliday who bowed out of the game in disgrace following an incident where his oversized ego over-engaged with a fan. Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 30 Sep. 2025
Verb
An excessive force lawsuit against a former San Jose cop disgraced by a racist texting scandal is set to resume, after a federal court ruling last week affirmed the ex-officer is not shielded from litigation in his controversial 2022 shooting of an aspiring college football player. Robert Salonga, Mercury News, 16 Sep. 2025 Lying at work often shows up as fraud, and some leaders struggle to know where the line is between criminal fraud and stretching the truth a bit, as disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes and former cryptocurrency exchange king Sam Bankman-Fried discovered. Lindsay Kohler, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for disgrace
Recent Examples of Synonyms for disgrace
Noun
  • What a shame Dennis Gimball won’t be alive to run on it.
    Scott Tobias, Vulture, 15 Oct. 2025
  • Which is a shame, as Denver had veteran hands on-side.
    Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 15 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • The Philippines scandal — which CNN first revealed in 2023 — has provided a major boost to these pro-Trump figures facing defamation lawsuits.
    Marshall Cohen, CNN Money, 17 Oct. 2025
  • Garcia could have enriched himself by keeping his mouth shut, and the Riverside scandal may have stalled out there.
    Luke Cyphers, Sportico.com, 17 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • At these intersections, pity and fear collide.
    Brian Hamilton, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025
  • Some earlier African intellectuals looked at Black America with pity, even disdain.
    Kelefa Sanneh, New Yorker, 6 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Pressing for payment could humiliate people, who often arrive with their extended families, Parmar explained, and in a community this close-knit, that could mean losing dozens of patients, including many of the Medicaid patients who keep the clinic afloat.
    Helen Ouyang, The Atlantic, 21 Oct. 2025
  • By the time the cameras stopped clicking and the newsmen flew home, Kentucky had been humiliated in the national press, the onlooker’s violence both disputed and affirmed in accounts of this day.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Pritzker has been trying to debunk claims that Chicago is an out-of-control hellhole; to assert in court that the federal government has no right to send in federal troops; and to discredit the tactics by immigration agents to arrest migrants in his state’s streets and businesses.
    Ben Smith, semafor.com, 20 Oct. 2025
  • Demonstrations can be hard to describe and easy to discredit.
    Nancy Gibbs, Time, 17 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The Bears lost this matchup in embarrassing fashion last year as the Commanders completed a Hail Mary with time expiring.
    Tyler Everett, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Oct. 2025
  • The games themselves are embarrassing enough to watch.
    Stewart Mandel, New York Times, 8 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Disgrace.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disgrace. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.

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