What does disreputability mean?
Disreputability is a formal noun describing the state of being disreputable — that is, having a bad reputation or failing to meet accepted standards of respectability. It derives from the adjective "disreputable," which combines the prefix "dis-" (expressing reversal or negation) with "reputable," from Latin reputare, meaning to reckon or think over. The word is used chiefly in written and literary English to characterise people, places, establishments, or behaviour seen as shady, seedy, or morally questionable. A run-down tavern might be described as having an air of disreputability, or a politician's past associations might lend him a whiff of it. The term often implies not outright infamy but a taint of untrustworthiness or low standing. Its antonym, respectability, marks the social approval it lacks. Though precise, it is a heavy, abstract word; in casual conversation speakers typically prefer simpler phrases such as "a bad reputation" or "a shady past."
nounThe state or quality of being disreputable; having a bad reputation or lacking respectability.
- The quality of having a bad reputation or lacking respectability.
"The hotel's air of disreputability kept all but the most desperate travellers away."
"The neighbourhood's lingering disreputability made rents cheap and investors wary."
"He wore his youthful disreputability like a badge of honour long after he'd settled down."
It's the heavyweight, four-syllable way of saying something just looks shady — and it's built from the same Latin verb that gives us "computer."
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of disreputability
Disreputability is formed from the adjective "disreputable" plus the suffix "-ity," which turns adjectives into nouns denoting qualities. "Disreputable" itself combines "dis-" with "reputable," ultimately from the Latin verb reputare, "to reckon, count over, or think over," a frequentative form related to putare, "to reckon or consider." The same Latin root underlies English words such as "repute," "compute," "dispute," and "putative." The word belongs to a large family of abstract nouns in "-ability" that emerged in post-classical and modern English to name qualities formally.
Related word forms
How disreputability is actually used
Formal and somewhat literary in register; in everyday speech, "bad reputation" or "disrepute" is far more common. The word carries a connotation of shabbiness or seediness as well as mere bad repute.
Easily confused with disreputability
"Disrepute" is the more common abstract noun meaning loss of good reputation, while "disreputability" specifically denotes the quality or state of being disreputable.