dishonour
verb · noun
Simple meaning
To bring disgrace upon someone or something.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
dihsahnerSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
dɪˈsɑnɚ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
Bring shame or dishonor upon
“He dishonored his family by committing a serious crime.”
To bring disgrace upon someone or something; to shame.
To refuse to accept something, such as a cheque; to not honor.
To violate or rape.
noun
A state of shame or disgrace
“He was resigned to a life of dishonor.”
Lack of honour or integrity.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Bring shame or dishonor upon
Used this way, dishonour is a common word with a faintly unfavourable edge. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Slightly negative
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Critical or judgemental
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
How It’s Used
The word’s distinct uses, one example each.
Bringverb
“He dishonored his family by committing a serious crime.”
Shamenoun
“He was resigned to a life of dishonor.”
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.