-ēəm noun
( -s )
Etymology: Latin, from opprobrare to reproach, from ob- + probrum disgraceful act, infamy, reproach, from prober guilty, subject to reproach; akin to Greek propherein to bring forward, reproach — more at for , bear
1. : something that gives occasion for disgrace or reprobation : opprobrious behavior
2. obsolete : opprobrious utterance
3.
a. : public or known disgrace or ill fame that ordinarily follows from or is attached to conduct considered grossly wrong or vicious : infamy
I can name four from thereabouts who have been in the pen. To only one … who … turned out to be truly criminal, does opprobrium attach — Oliver La Farge
b. : contempt or distaste usually mingled with reproach and an implication of inferiority
cold storage was once a term of opprobrium
there has always been opprobrium attached to ignorance of grammar — Charlton Laird
Synonyms: see dishonor