disreputable

adjective

dis·​rep·​u·​ta·​ble (ˌ)dis-ˈre-pyə-tə-bəl How to pronounce disreputable (audio)
: not reputable
disreputableness noun
disreputably adverb

Examples of disreputable in a Sentence

a disreputable Internet retailer that had a record of hundreds of complaints for shoddy merchandise and slow refunds
Recent Examples on the Web Sandler's Howard, an inveterate and impulsive gambler, disreputable New York jeweler, and womanizer, is a motor-mouthed, immature risk taker. Dennis Perkins, EW.com, 23 Oct. 2023 Their rowdy energy is so willfully disreputable, they must be made by a bunch of know-nothing lunkheads. Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 29 Dec. 2023 Some of the conservatives around MacArthur were rather disreputable, to put it mildly. Ian Buruma, The New Yorker, 16 Oct. 2023 Sections of this informative but unimaginative movie are presented as hectic montages in an apparent attempt to mirror Wolfe’s speedy, ebullient prose, which was modeled in part on the writing of the brilliant and utterly disreputable French novelist Louis-Ferdinand Céline. Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 12 Oct. 2023 Add to this the fabrications and plagiarism of the writers Stephen Glass and Ruth Shalit, and The New Republic of the Peretz era can in retrospect begin to resemble, to many, a leaky, disreputable ghost barge. Dwight Garner, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2023 Put simply, Mareterra isn’t a development where disreputable oligarchs and oil magnates can keep cash away from prying governments’ eyes. Mark Ellwood, Robb Report, 6 Aug. 2023 This was an affront to our general decency, as no silly or disreputable artist had ever previously won a Grammy. Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 June 2023 Requisitioned from farmers, blitzed with anthrax-laden bombs in the 1940s, and made inhospitable to human and animal life for decades, the tiny Scottish island of Gruinard now serves as home to a flock of healthy sheep and a disreputable monument to the birth of biological warfare. Rebecca Kreston, Discover Magazine, 1 Apr. 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'disreputable.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1726, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of disreputable was circa 1726

Dictionary Entries Near disreputable

Cite this Entry

“Disreputable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disreputable. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

disreputable

adjective
dis·​rep·​u·​ta·​ble (ˈ)dis-ˈrep-yət-ə-bəl How to pronounce disreputable (audio)
: not respectable : having a bad reputation
disreputableness noun
disreputably adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on disreputable

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