Meaning & use
reprehensible
Last updated
Meaning
adjectivecomparableformal
Seriously wrong and worthy of strong blame.
Grammar: Appears before a noun or after be: reprehensible behavior, his conduct was reprehensible.
Patterns
- morally reprehensible
- it is reprehensible to do something
Lying to patients about the risks was reprehensible.
The senator called the attack on the journalist reprehensible.
It is reprehensible to take credit for someone else's work.
Word forms
| comparative | more reprehensible |
|---|---|
| superlative | most reprehensible |
Common combinations
- morally reprehensible
- Dumping waste into the river was morally reprehensible.
- reprehensible behavior
- The coach was fired for reprehensible behavior.
- deeply reprehensible
- The cover-up was deeply reprehensible.
- reprehensible act
- Such a reprehensible act cannot be excused.
- find something reprehensible
- Many readers found the author's remarks reprehensible.
Synonyms and how they differ
- blameworthy
- Blameworthy is milder and just says someone deserves blame, while reprehensible suggests serious moral failure.
- despicable
- Despicable focuses on contempt for the person, whereas reprehensible focuses on the wrongness of the act.
- shameful
- Shameful points to what should cause shame, and is less formal than reprehensible.
- unacceptable
- Unacceptable is neutral and practical, and does not carry the moral condemnation of reprehensible.
Opposites
Word family
- reprehensibly adverb
- in a seriously blameworthy way
- reprehend verb
- to criticize or rebuke, now rare
- reprehension noun
- strong criticism, now rare
- reprehensibility noun
- the quality of deserving blame
Commonly confused: reprehensible or comprehensible?
reprehensible vs comprehensible
Comprehensible means able to be understood; it shares the ending but has an unrelated meaning.
Practice
The board described the manager's decision to hide the safety defects as ______.
Choose one answer.
Hiding safety defects is a serious moral wrong, which is what reprehensible means. Comprehensible means understandable and does not fit.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “reprehensible”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.