dishonour

English

Alternative forms

• dishonor (US)

Etymology

From Old French deshonor, equivalent to dis- +‎ honour.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /dɪsˈɒnə(ɹ)/
• (obsolete) IPA^(key): /dɪzˈɒnəɹ/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Noun

dishonour (countable and uncountable, plural dishonours) (UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, South Africa)

1. Shame or disgrace.

   You have brought dishonour upon the family.

   • 1645, G. Gillespie, Nihil Respondes, section 11:

     That which were a dishonour to God the Son, were a dishonour to God the holy Ghost.

2. Lack of honour or integrity.
3. (law) Failure or refusal of the drawee or intended acceptor of a negotiable instrument, such as a bill of exchange or note, to accept it or, if it is accepted, to pay and retire it.

Synonyms

• unhonour

Translations

shame or disgrace

• Bengali: অসম্মান (bn) (ośomman), জিল্লত (jillot)
• Bulgarian: срам (bg) m (sram), позор (bg) m (pozor)
• Esperanto: malhonoro
• Finnish: häpeä (fi)
• French: déshonneur (fr) m

  Old French: desonor m

• German: Schande (de) f
• Gothic: 𐌿𐌽𐍃𐍅𐌴𐍂𐌹𐌸𐌰 f (unswēriþa)
• Greek:

  Ancient: ἀτιμία f (atimía), αἶσχος n (aîskhos)

• Ido: deshonoro (io)
• Italian: disonore (it) m
• Latin: ignominia
• Malayalam: മാനക്കേട് (ml) (mānakkēṭŭ)
• Maori: kaipirau (applied to a person after their death), hōnorekore
• Norwegian: skam (no) m, vanære (no) m
• Old English: ǣwisċ f
• Old Norse: vanheiðr m
• Old Occitan: deshonor
• Persian: ننگ (fa) (nang)
• Plautdietsch: Oniea f, * Plautdietsch: Schaund f
• Polish: hańba (pl) f, dyshonor (pl) m, niehonor m
• Portuguese: desonra (pt) f
• Russian: позо́р (ru) m (pozór), бесче́стие (ru) n (besčéstije), срам (ru) m (sram)
• Sanskrit: विमान (sa) m (vimāna)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: бешчашће n

  Roman: beščašće n

• Spanish: desdoro (es) m, deshonor (es) m, deshonra (es) f
• Swedish: vanheder (sv) c
• Ukrainian: безче́стя (uk) n (bezčéstja), ганьба́ (uk) f (hanʹbá)

lack of honour or integrity

• Finnish: kunniattomuus
• Maori: hōnorekore

failure of the drawee to pay and retire a negotiable instrument

Verb

dishonour (third-person singular simple present dishonours, present participle dishonouring, simple past and past participle dishonoured) (UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, South Africa)

1. To bring disgrace upon someone or something; to shame.

   You have dishonoured the family.

   • 1854, Robert Aitken, The teaching of the types, page 99:

     Still, in the very fullest blaze of gospel light, while we see that both Christ and His work are most ungratefully and flagrantly dishonoured, by our persistings in the attempt to do for ourselves what He has told us we cannot do, […]

2. To refuse to accept something, such as a cheque; to not honor.
   • 1684, Obadiah Walker, A Paraphrase and Annotations Upon All the Epistles of St Paul:

     disworshipping and dishonouring God

3. To violate or rape.
   • 1863, Charles Reade, Hard Cash‎^[2]:

     “My men, the schooner coming up on our weather quarter is a Portuguese pirate. His character is known; he scuttles all the ships he boards, dishonours the women, and murders the crew.”

Derived terms

• dishonourer

 

Translations

to bring disgrace upon someone or something

• Bulgarian: позоря (bg) (pozorja)
• Czech: zostudit
• Esperanto: malhonorigi
• French: déshonorer (fr)
• German: schänden (de)
• Gothic: 𐌲𐌰𐌰𐌹𐍅𐌹𐍃𐌺𐍉𐌽 (gaaiwiskōn), 𐌿𐌽𐍃𐍅𐌴𐍂𐌰𐌽 (unswēran)
• Greek:

  Ancient: ἀτιμάω (atimáō), ἀτιμάζω (atimázō), αἰσχύνω (aiskhúnō)

• Ido: deshonoro (io)
• Ingrian: hävätä
• Italian: disonorare (it)
• Latin: dehonestō
• Maori: whakahōnorekore, kaipirau (refers to speaking ill of the dead)
• Ngazidja Comorian: hwaiɓisha
• Portuguese: desonrar (pt)
• Russian: бесче́стить (ru) impf (besčéstitʹ), обесче́стить (ru) pf (obesčéstitʹ), позо́рить (ru) impf (pozóritʹ), опозо́рить (ru) pf (opozóritʹ), срами́ть (ru) impf (sramítʹ), осрами́ть (ru) pf (osramítʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: обешчашћивати impf

  Roman: obeščašćivati impf

• Spanish: deshonrar (es), deshonorar (es)
• Swedish: vanhedra (sv)
• Telugu: అవమానించు (te) (avamāniñcu)