opprobrium

noun

ə-ˈprō-brē-əm How to pronounce opprobrium (audio)
Definition of opprobriumnext
1
as in scandal
a cause of shame saw no reason why "secretary" should suddenly become a term of opprobrium among the politically correct

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2
as in disgrace
the state of having lost the esteem of others the opprobrium that was long attached to the convicted embezzler's name

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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 opprobrium But there was no mass walkout, no opprobrium. — James McNicholas, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2026 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 See All Example Sentences for opprobrium
Recent Examples of Synonyms for opprobrium
  1. scandal
  2. disgrace
  3. shame
  4. contempt
  5. odium
  6. humiliation
Noun
  • The case was one of many corruption scandals that plagued Ken Paxton during his decade-long tenure.
    — David Zimmermann, The Washington Examiner, 13 Oct. 2026
  • In Season 2, after winning an award for his investigation, Raybon sets his sights on another scandal — the disappearance of a prisoner — and his father, played by Tommy Lee Jones, pops up, too.
    — Shivani Gonzalez, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of scandal
Noun
  • But Scott was mercifully lifted for Evan Phillips, who recorded the final out of the game to save the Dodgers from disgrace.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 3 Oct. 2026
  • And that’s despite his cancer diagnosis, Andrew’s disgrace, and the unpredictable return of Harry & Meghan.
    — Ashley Baker, Air Mail, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of disgrace
Noun
  • The shame lies with the governments who ignored the AIDS crisis and the stigma that was around people and the innate prejudice that was in society.
    — Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Accordingly, some straight men feel shame about their interest.
    — Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of shame
Noun
  • In Wednesday’s court filing, attorneys for the detainees asked a federal judge to hold the government in civil contempt for violating the order and to impose daily fines of $500 for each violation until they are addressed.
    — Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Congress could claw back some of its authority if committee chairs were prepared to subpoena those who refuse to testify, direct witnesses to answer pertinent questions, and pursue contempt proceedings against uncooperative witnesses.
    — David Wippman, Washington Post, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of contempt
Noun
  • Pashinyan had led the movement to oust Moscow’s influence in Armenia; he was now saddled with the odium of losing Karabakh on his watch.
    — Melik Kaylan, Forbes, 9 Oct. 2024
  • By heaping odium on Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, one of several prominent opposition figures, the government gave a divided opposition a leader to unite around.
    — Christopher de Bellaigue, The New York Review of Books, 13 Oct. 2022
Definition of odium
Noun
  • Flanagan has to reach a bit to find something new to say here, since the 2002 Carrie already touched on school violence in a post-Columbine world, while the tech-savvier 2013 movie turned Carrie’s humiliation into a viral video.
    — Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 8 Oct. 2026
  • This anecdote is delivered in song, which somehow makes the humiliation worse — and more savagely humorous.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of humiliation

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Cite this Entry

“Opprobrium.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/opprobrium. Accessed 13 Oct. 2026.

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