dishonorable

/(ˌ)dis-ˈä-nə-rə-bəl -ˈä-nər-bəl/ (ame, mw)

dishonorable — adjective

  • dishonorablepositive
  • more dishonorablecomparative
  • most dishonorablesuperlative

1. If a deed, choice, or piece of conduct is dishonorable, doing it brings shame on

1.形容詞C1
釋義

If a deed, choice, or piece of conduct is dishonorable, doing it brings shame on the person responsible and makes other people lose their good opinion of them.

例句

The court ruled that selling fake medicine was a dishonorable act, and the company lost its license.

predicative: a dishonorable act / deed

Chidi told his brother that running from the fight would be dishonorable, even if it saved them money.

be + dishonorable describing a hypothetical action

同義詞
  • shameful

    more common in everyday speech; less formal than 'dishonorable'

  • disgraceful

    stronger emotional charge; suggests public outrage

  • ignoble

    very formal and literary; often used of motives or aims

反義詞
  • honorable

    direct opposite; describes acts that earn respect

  • noble

    more positive; suggests moral excellence beyond mere honor

用法筆記

Usually describes actions, choices, or outcomes rather than people; for the personal-character reading, see sense 2. Often appears in fixed legal or military phrases such as 'dishonorable discharge' and 'dishonorable conduct'.

常見錯誤

❌It was a dishonor act.
✅It was a dishonorable act.
💡'dishonor' is a noun; the adjective form is 'dishonorable'.
❌She did a dishonorable.
✅She did something dishonorable.
💡'dishonorable' is an adjective and needs a noun or pronoun to modify.

2. If you call someone dishonorable, you mean they cannot be trusted to act fairly

2.形容詞C1
釋義

If you call someone dishonorable, you mean they cannot be trusted to act fairly or honestly, and so they do not deserve other people's respect or praise.

例句

Yael refused to do business with the dishonorable trader who had cheated her grandfather years before.

attributive: a dishonorable + person noun (trader, dealer, official)

The judge described the witness as a dishonorable man who would say anything for the right amount of money.

describe / call + somebody + dishonorable

同義詞
  • untrustworthy

    neutral and common; focuses on the inability to be relied upon

  • unscrupulous

    stronger; suggests willing to do clearly wrong things for gain

  • crooked

    informal; often used of officials or business people

反義詞
  • honorable

    describes a trustworthy person of good character

  • upright

    everyday word for morally straight and honest

用法筆記

Subject is usually a person, group, or institution; the personal-character reading. Distinguish from sense 1 ('SHAMEFUL ACT'), where the subject is an action, deed, or course of conduct rather than a person.

常見錯誤

❌He has a dishonorable.
✅He is a dishonorable man.
💡'dishonorable' is an adjective and needs a noun like 'man', 'woman', 'person'.
❌She is too dishonorable to lie.
✅She is too honorable to lie.
💡'dishonorable' means dishonest; using it here reverses the intended meaning.