Meaning & use
reproachable
Last updated
Meaning
adjectivenot comparableformal
Deserving blame or criticism; worthy of reproach.
Grammar: Used to describe actions or behavior that deserve blame. It is not usually used in the comparative form.
Patterns
- reproachable conduct
- reproachable behavior
His conduct during the meeting was highly reproachable.
Such reproachable behavior will not be tolerated.
The report described the company's actions as morally reproachable.
Common combinations
- morally reproachable
- Many considered the decision morally reproachable.
- highly reproachable
- The judge called the act highly reproachable.
- reproachable conduct
- The committee investigated his reproachable conduct.
Synonyms and how they differ
- blameworthy
- Blameworthy is more common in everyday writing and means the same but sounds slightly less formal.
- culpable
- Culpable is a legal or formal term meaning deserving blame for a fault or crime.
- reprehensible
- Reprehensible is stronger and suggests something that deserves strong moral disapproval.
Opposites
Word family
- reproach verb
- To express disapproval or disappointment.
- reproach noun
- Blame or disapproval.
- reproachful adjective
- Expressing blame or disappointment.
- irreproachable adjective
- Perfect and impossible to criticize.
Commonly confused: reproachable or irreproachable?
reproachable vs irreproachable
Irreproachable means beyond blame, while reproachable means deserving blame. The prefix 'ir-' makes it opposite.
Practice
The teacher said that cheating on the test was a ______ act.
Choose one answer.
Cheating deserves blame, so 'reproachable' fits. 'Irreproachable' means beyond blame, which is the opposite, and 'reproachful' describes a look or tone, not an act.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “reproachable”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.