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
  • When King Juan Carlos abdicated in 2014, forced out by financial scandals and weakened by recurring health problems, the crown skipped his eldest daughter, Infanta Elena, born in 1963.
    — Séraphine Roger, Vanity Fair, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Where others might’ve retired and spent their money, having managed to make it to the end of the 20th century without a legitimate scandal or sustained career downturn, Parton kept giving it away and finding new methods to inspire and create.
    — Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of scandal
Noun
  • When Spiro Agnew resigned in disgrace over tax evasion, Kennerly was tapped to photograph one of his potential replacements as vice president, Gerald Ford.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 23 Aug. 2026
  • Until Graham Platner’s Maine Senate campaign exploded in disgrace, Platner was routinely cast as a son of privilege playing Carhartt dress-up.
    — Tyler Austin Harper, The Atlantic, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of disgrace
Noun
  • Meizlish told the Washington Examiner that prior attempts to shame countries doing business with Iran, including China, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates, had fallen flat.
    — Christian Datoc, The Washington Examiner, 24 Aug. 2026
  • And that's a shame, because the US could arguably use more cars like this, not fewer.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of shame
Noun
  • The comments section runs some 73,000 entries deep, with people talking themselves out of contempt in real time.
    — Josh Martin, Rolling Stone, 19 Aug. 2026
  • Streissand warned that any unauthorized sale would constitute a breach of trust, fiduciary duty, and contempt of court.
    — Mark Medina, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 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
  • This month, that disconnect became an electoral humiliation for Republican leaders.
    — Jeremy Kohler, ProPublica, 21 Aug. 2026
  • The season’s final humiliation was losing a Copa del Rey final to neighbours Atletico Madrid at the Bernabeu, with both Mourinho and Ronaldo red-carded.
    — Dermot Corrigan, New York Times, 21 Aug. 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 27 Aug. 2026.

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