reproving

verb

present participle of reprove
1
as in admonishing
to criticize (someone) usually gently so as to correct a fault my piano teacher often reproves me for slouching while playing, observing that good posture helps one play better

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in reprimanding
to express public or formal disapproval of the principal reproved the hockey team for their display of poor sportsmanship on the ice and ordered that a letter of apology be sent to the other school

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in disliking
to hold an unfavorable opinion of the older generation has always reproved the younger generation's taste in music

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for reproving
  1. admonishing
  2. reprimanding
  3. disliking
  4. scolding
  5. censuring
  6. criticizing
  7. condemning
  8. rejecting
Verb
  • Santa hurries away to save Christmas after admonishing Jack for not listening to Sally.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Police Chief Bret Cottrell wrote a letter that same day to the sergeant admonishing his actions, according to the suit.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of admonishing
Verb
  • Instead of reprimanding his pet, Linnetz seems to recognize the moment as a potentially good shot.
    — Julissa James, Los Angeles Times, 10 Sep. 2026
  • The audience awkwardly chuckles, and Scovel, eyes still closed, begins reprimanding them.
    — Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of reprimanding
Verb
  • Lorne Michaels took a liking to him (while disliking his predecessor) and took him under his wing, valuing his creative sense by asking for his feedback on writer packages and taking him to auditions.
    — Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 9 Oct. 2026
  • For Pillsbury, the issue seems to be less about disliking the name itself and more about seeing the same joke repeated online.
    — Lily Brown, PEOPLE, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of disliking
Verb
  • By the time his daughter shows up, flanked by her mom and upright dentist stepdad, Lee’s moved on from scolding the room to thanking his mother for believing him.
    — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Others criticized Anderson for seemingly scolding fans and trying to tell them where to sit.
    — James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of scolding
Verb
  • Two Republicans voted against censuring Edwards, despite the recommendation.
    — Lauren Green, The Washington Examiner, 1 Sep. 2026
  • The City Council, which is considering censuring the mayor, asked for assistance because the city’s Human Resources director wasn’t available at the time, according to Mayor Pro Tem Tara Graves.
    — Elijah Megginson, AJC.com, 25 July 2026
Definition of censuring
Verb
  • Multiple Republicans brought up Bottoms during the debate when criticizing their GOP opponent.
    — Adam Beam, AJC.com, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Raman brought up Gates briefly while criticizing the mayor over the Los Angeles Police Department’s handling of federal immigration enforcement during Tuesday night’s debate.
    — David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of criticizing
Verb
  • The brazen, unmasked calls to erase Israel triggered fierce bipartisan backlash from lawmakers condemning the rising wave of open extremism.
    — Staff, FOXNews.com, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Reddit users have been posting about the problem, and condemning Sega and the game’s developer, Creative Assembly.
    — Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of condemning
Verb
  • This may involve rejecting a command, removing write access, isolating the AI, transferring control back to the operator or moving equipment into a safe state.
    — Gregory Shahnovsky, Forbes.com, 13 Oct. 2026
  • The sense was that the people who were rejecting the Keynesian model were throwing out the baby with the bathwater.
    — Greg Rosalsky, NPR, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of rejecting
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

reproves
reproving
reprovingly
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Reproving.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/reproving. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All