disrepute

noun

dis·​re·​pute ˌdis-ri-ˈpyüt 

: lack or decline of good reputation : a state of being held in low esteem

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When to Use Disrepute

A reputation can be easy to lose, and someone who is no longer respectable may eventually find he's become genuinely disreputable—the kind of person that almost no one wants to be seen with. Disrepute isn't only for individuals: A company may fall into disrepute as a result of news stories about its products' defects; drug scandals have brought entire sports into disrepute; and a scientific theory may fall into disrepute as a result of new discoveries.

Synonyms

• discredit
• disesteem
• disgrace
• dishonor
• ignominy
• infamy
• obloquy
• odium
• opprobrium
• reproach
• shame

Choose the Right Synonym for disrepute

disgrace, dishonor, disrepute, infamy, ignominy mean the state or condition of suffering loss of esteem and of enduring reproach.

disgrace often implies humiliation and sometimes ostracism.

sent home in disgrace

dishonor emphasizes the loss of honor that one has enjoyed or the loss of self-esteem.

preferred death to life with dishonor

disrepute stresses loss of one's good name or the acquiring of a bad reputation.

a once proud name fallen into disrepute

infamy usually implies notoriety as well as exceeding shame.

a day that lives in infamy

ignominy stresses humiliation.

the ignominy of being arrested

Examples of disrepute in a Sentence

The theory has been in disrepute for years.

a once proud name fallen into disrepute

Recent Examples on the Web

Employees are subject to boilerplate rules on not bringing the BBC into disrepute, per contractual clauses seen by Deadline. —Jake Kanter, Deadline, 1 Aug. 2024

Thus, the American version of capitalism is, if not in full disrepute, then at least no longer dominant. —Foreign Affairs, 18 Dec. 2011

Anyway, Portia managed to cover the whole thing up to avoid disrepute. —Eliana Dockterman, TIME, 15 May 2024

But that work—not his own—quickly fell into disrepute, and a larger crisis over irreproducible results began to spread. —Daniel Engber, The Atlantic, 28 Mar. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1637, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing disrepute

• bring into disrepute
• fall into disrepute
• in disrepute

Kids Definition

disrepute

noun

dis·​re·​pute ˌdis-ri-ˈpyüt 

: loss or lack of good reputation : disgrace