opprobrium
op·pro·bri·um/əˈpɹoʊ.bɹi.əm/noun
opprobrium is spelled O-P-P-R-O-B-R-I-U-M: 10 letters and 4 syllables (op·pro·bri·um). It appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 83,271st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, opprobrium means “Disgrace or bad reputation arising from exceedingly shameful behaviour; ignominy” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of opprobrium is opprobriums or opprobria.
How many letters and syllables are in opprobrium?
| Letters | 10: O-P-P-R-O-B-R-I-U-M |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: op·pro·bri·um |
| In writing | about once in every 8 million words; the 83,271st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is opprobrium?
Opprobrium appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 83,271st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce opprobrium?
- UK /əˈpɹəʊ.bɹɪ.əm/
- US /əˈpɹoʊ.bɹi.əm/
- UK /əˈpɹəʊ.bɹɪ.ə/
Opprobrium has 4 syllables, split op·pro·bri·um in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-opprobrium.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of opprobrium
- opprobriums plural
- opprobria plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does opprobrium mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
archaicA cause, object, or situation of disgrace or shame.
- 2
Disgrace or bad reputation arising from exceedingly shameful behaviour; ignominy.
- 3
Scornful contempt or reproach; (countable) an instance of this.
- 4
archaicBehaviour which is disgraceful or shameful.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Opprobrium in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense disgrace or bad reputation arising from exceedingly shameful behaviour – see als:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does opprobrium come from?
Learned borrowing from Latin opprobrium, obprobrium (“a reproach, a taunt; disgrace, shame; dishonour; scandal”, noun), from opprobrō, obprobrō (“to reproach, upbraid; to taunt”) + -ium (suffix forming abstract nouns). Opprobrō, obprobrō are derived from ob- (prefix meaning ‘towards’) + probrum (“disgrace, shame; abuse, insult”, noun) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pro- (“forward; toward”) + *bʰer- (“to bear, carry”), in the sense of something brought up to reproach a person). The plural form opprobria is borrowed from Latin opprobria.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).