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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 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 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
  • Since the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal, MLB strictly bans using personal electronics to record coaches or decode signals.
    — Alejandro Avila OutKick, FOXNews.com, 22 July 2026
  • This marks another unusual chapter for Beltran with the Mets; he was previously hired as manager in 2019 but stepped down before managing a game due to the Astros sign-stealing scandal.
    — Peter Chawaga, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026
Definition of scandal
Noun
  • Carnegie understood that the disgrace wasn’t just dying rich.
    — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 22 July 2026
  • The character’s remorse and disgrace become a pivotal part of the movie’s third act, which ends almost entirely differently than Homer’s nearly 3,000-year-old tome.
    — Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 18 July 2026
Definition of disgrace
Noun
  • His aggression should put riders who rode for the lower GC places, rather than stage wins, to shame.
    — Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 27 July 2026
  • Because many women have dealt with demoralization and shame for years, cognitive behavioral therapy can also help.
    — Brittney Melton, NPR, 27 July 2026
Definition of shame
Noun
  • After Navarro failed to comply with the subpoena, he was indicted and later convicted on two counts of contempt of Congress, one for failing to produce documents and a second for failing to testify.
    — Aysha Bagchi, USA Today, 21 July 2026
  • In June 2022, Cuban authorities sentenced Otero Alcántara to five years in prison on charges including public disorder, contempt and insulting national symbols.
    — Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 20 July 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
  • Hye-ri, the spoiled daughter whose bullying acted as a catalyst for this entire sequence of events, has been sent abroad following the public humiliation of her family.
    — Kayti Burt, Time, 27 July 2026
  • Weber’s account does not play down the violence and humiliation of the process.
    — Nikhil Krishnan, New Yorker, 20 July 2026
Definition of humiliation

Browse Nearby Words

opprobrious
opprobrium
opprobriums
See all Nearby Words

Podcast

Cite this Entry

“Opprobrium.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/opprobrium. Accessed 28 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on opprobrium

Nglish: Translation of opprobrium for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of kludge

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

Every Letter Is Silent, Sometimes: A-Z List of Examples
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 24

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
chain-question-mark
Missing Link Quiz July 2026 Five seconds to figure out the word that fits bot...
See All