dishonored
dishonored — noun
1. the painful loss of other people's respect, often caused by doing something mora
the painful loss of other people's respect, often caused by doing something morally wrong or failing to do what duty requires.
After the scandal, the mayor resigned in dishonor rather than face the public.
resign + in dishonor — collocation for leaving office due to shame
Kofi chose dishonor over betraying his closest friend to the authorities.
choose dishonor over + gerund — pattern for choosing shame over another action
The Watanabe family felt deep dishonor when their son was caught stealing from the temple.
For the soldier, surrendering meant a lifetime of dishonor in his home village.
The charity worker lived with dishonor after taking money meant for sick children.
文法句型
dishonor + of + noun
in dishonor
bring dishonor to
用法筆記
Frequently uncountable when referring to the state or feeling ('a life of dishonor'). It can be countable when pointing to one specific source of shame ('It was a dishonor to the family').
常見錯誤
dishonored — verb
1. to treat someone in a way that makes them feel worthless and ashamed, especially
to treat someone in a way that makes them feel worthless and ashamed, especially by humiliating them in public or showing them no respect.
The guards dishonored the prisoner by forcing him to sleep on the cold stone floor.
dishonor + [person] + by + gerund — pattern showing the degrading action
Vikram felt dishonored when his boss yelled at him in front of the entire sales team.
feel dishonored — common passive construction
During the team briefing, the director dishonored the junior designer by mocking her drawings in front of thirty colleagues.
Noa's teammates dishonored her by spreading false rumors about her private life.
The journalist felt dishonored by the editor who rewrote her story without asking her opinion.
文法句型
dishonor + person
feel dishonored + by + noun
用法筆記
The object must be a person or group of people, never an inanimate thing. This sense is frequently used in the passive voice ('felt dishonored' or 'was dishonored').
常見錯誤
2. to damage the good reputation of a person, family, group, or institution by doin
to damage the good reputation of a person, family, group, or institution by doing something that people consider unacceptable or morally wrong.
The politician dishonored his office by accepting secret payments from a foreign company.
dishonor + [role/office] — typical collocation
Mei-Lin's older brother dishonored the family name when he was arrested for fraud.
dishonor + the family name — very common collocation
A few dishonest staff members dishonored the entire hospital by stealing medical supplies.
Dr. Okafor dishonored the hospital by selling patient information to an unlicensed drug company.
Olivia's uncle dishonored their community by cheating elderly neighbors out of their savings.
文法句型
dishonor + family/name/country/institution
用法筆記
Unlike verb sense 1 (DEGRADE), this sense can take abstract objects like a reputation, tradition, or institution name. The focus is on the damage to reputation, not the treatment of a person.
常見錯誤
3. to refuse to pay a check, bill, or debt when it is presented, or to fail to keep
to refuse to pay a check, bill, or debt when it is presented, or to fail to keep a promise or agreement that you have formally made with someone.
The bank dishonored Haruki's check because there was not enough money in his account.
bank dishonor + check — standard financial context
When the buyer dishonored the contract, the seller had to take the case to court.
dishonor + contract — legal/business collocation
The company dishonored its promise to rebuild the school damaged during construction.
Diego's landlord dishonored their rental agreement by raising the price after only three months.
The customer dishonored the agreement by refusing to pay for the work that was completed.
文法句型
dishonor + check/bill/debt/promise/agreement
用法筆記
Used in financial and legal contexts. The subject can be a bank, a person, or an organization. The passive form is also common ('the check was dishonored'). When applied to a promise or agreement, it means to break one's word.