reprehensible

adjective

rep·​re·​hen·​si·​ble ˌre-pri-ˈhen(t)-sə-bəl 

: worthy of or deserving reprehension : culpable

reprehensibility

ˌre-pri-ˌhen(t)-sə-ˈbi-lə-tē 

noun

reprehensibleness

ˌre-pri-ˈhen(t)-sə-bəl-nəs 

noun

reprehensibly

ˌre-pri-ˈhen(t)-sə-blē 

adverb

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

• blamable
• blameworthy
• censurable
• culpable
• reproachable

Examples of reprehensible in a Sentence

a reprehensible tyrant, who oppressed his country for decades, has finally been brought to justice

your behavior towards the other team was truly reprehensible, so you're being suspended from the next three games

Recent Examples on the Web

Those three things adding up result in William not being able to control his anger and acting in a way that's reprehensible. —Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 14 Dec. 2024

This episode is a nightmare of stress and bad choices, and Sagar Radia plays Rishi with such subtlety that despite his reprehensible behavior, I was still left feeling oddly soft for him. —Nina Li Coomes, Vulture, 1 Sep. 2024

As then-President Pollack and Board Chair Kayser noted at the time, his comment was reprehensible and demonstrated a complete disregard for humanity. —Michael Dorgan, Fox News, 20 Sep. 2024

Regrettably, anyone who expressed even mild objections to DEI could be branded as a reprehensible bigot who needed immediate reeducation, thereby creating a demand for even more progressive-indoctrination sessions. —The Editors, National Review, 29 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

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Kids Definition

reprehensible

adjective

rep·​re·​hen·​si·​ble ˌrep-ri-ˈhen(t)-sə-bəl 

: worthy of or deserving blame or condemnation

reprehensible acts

reprehensibleness noun

reprehensibly

-blē 

adverb