Reproach

Part of speech: verb, noun

Pronunciation: /ɹɪˈpɹəʊtʃ/

Definitions

1. To express disapproval or disappointment toward someone for their actions or behavior
2. To convey criticism or disappointment to someone regarding their actions or conduct
3. To express disapproval or scorn toward an individual's behavior or choices

Etymology: Reproach has a Latin ancestor that once meant "to bring close" in a physical sense, and its path into English runs through a chain of Latin words built around the idea of "back" and "near." The Latin verb "prope" meant "near," and a verb built from it, "propiare," meant to approach. Vulgar Latin, the spoken everyday form of the language, combined this with "re-" to give "repropiare," roughly "to bring back near," which described pushing or bringing something back toward someone. Over time the physical sense of drawing close gave way to a sense of holding someone to account, and that is the meaning that reached Old French as "reprochier." Middle English borrowed the word from Old French in the form "reprochen," and the sense of blaming or criticising settled in quickly. The noun followed the same route, so the verb and noun share a single origin. The modern English meaning of finding fault with someone is therefore the result of a long shift from a spatial image of approaching to a moral image of confronting.

Synonyms: scold, rebuke, chide, reprimand, censure

Antonyms: praise, compliment, commendation, laud, applaud