It's Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 23rd.

Today's word is appropriate. Today's word is opprobrium spelled O-P-P-R-O-B-R-I-U-M.

A-B-I-U-M. A-B-A-B-I-U-M. A-B-A-B-N-A-B-T-E-U-M. It refers to very strong disapproval or criticism of a person or thing, especially by a large number of people.

Here's the word used in a sentence from the New York Times by Vanessa Friedman.

Caught up in a whirlwind of public

opprobrium, the brands executives seemed

unsure how to react, before finally offering up statements

of public apologies and self-recrimination.

If you are unfamiliar with the word

aprobrium it's hardly grounds for well aprobrium we're here to learn

besides a probrium is quite formal and has few close relations in English.

It comes from the Latin verb a probare, which means to reproach. That verb in turn comes

from the noun a probro a disgraceful act or reproach

the adjective form of a probrium is aprobrious which in English means deserving of scorn or expressing contempt.

One might commit an appropriate crime or be berated with aprobrious language, for example. With your word of the day, I'm with Visit Marion Webster. Webster.com today for definitions, word play, and trending word lookups.