reprehensible
adjective
Did you know?
It may be easy to grasp that reprehensible is all about blame, but the word’s origins tell a grabbier story. The word comes from the Latin reprehendere (literally “to hold back”), a combination of re- and prehendere, meaning “to grasp.” Prehendere is at the root of other grasp-related words, among them apprehend, used when grabbing hold of bad guys, comprehend, used when it’s concepts that are grasped, and prehensile, used to describe anatomical features—for example, a monkey’s tail or an elephant’s trunk—that grasp especially by wrapping around. Grasp these words, and there’s nothing reprehensible about your grasp on this little corner of the English lexicon.
Synonyms
Examples of reprehensible in a Sentence
Kevin Jacobsen, EW.com, 11 Sep. 2024
The reprehensible bombing of Gaza continues and Iran is contemplating retaliation.
—Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times, 13 Aug. 2024
Every interaction with Israelis, Ahmad concludes, is either violent or morally reprehensible.
—David Remnick, The New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2024
Even if fans forgive The Boys’s superheroes for committing reprehensible acts like the aforementioned rape, killing, and violence, there were still moments that should have made the intent quite clear.
—Alex Abad-Santos, Vox, 25 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for reprehensible 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'reprehensible.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near reprehensible
Cite this Entry
“Reprehensible.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reprehensible. Accessed 20 Sep. 2024.
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reprehensible
adjective
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