All 11 Uses of
reproach
in
The House of Mirth
- Mrs. Bart's worst reproach to her husband was to ask him if he expected her to "live like a pig"; and his replying in the negative was always regarded as a justification for cabling to Paris for an extra dress or two, and telephoning to the jeweller that he might, after all, send home the turquoise bracelet which Mrs. Bart had looked at that morning.†
Chpt 1.3
- "I really think, mother," she said reproachfully, "we might afford a few fresh flowers for luncheon.†
Chpt 1.3
- It was the voice of her own conscience which spoke to her through Mrs. Trenor's reproachful accents.†
Chpt 1.7 *
- While her friend reproached her for missing the opportunity to eclipse her rivals, she was once more battling in imagination with the mounting tide of indebtedness from which she had so nearly escaped.†
Chpt 1.7
- Miss Bart had received one or two notes from Judy Trenor, reproaching her for not returning to Bellomont; but she replied evasively, alleging the obligation to remain with her aunt.†
Chpt 1.10
- She had reason to think that she had made herself equally necessary to her host and hostess; and if only she had seen any perfectly irreproachable means of drawing a financial profit from the situation, there would have been no cloud on her horizon.†
Chpt 2.2
- She spoke very gently, but with just the least tinge of reproach.†
Chpt 2.2
- Mrs. Dorset smiled on her reproachfully.†
Chpt 2.2
- He saw then, with a pang of self-reproach, that she meant neither to explain nor to defend herself; that by his miserable silence he had forfeited all chance of helping her, and that the decisive hour was past.†
Chpt 2.3
- Lily murmured reproachfully; but Mrs. Fisher pressed on unrebuffed.†
Chpt 2.5
- It was not that she had, in the conventional sense, any doubt of Mrs. Hatch's irreproachableness.†
Chpt 2.9
Definition:
-
(reproach) a criticism; or to express criticism or disappointment -- especially where a relationship makes the disapproval result in disappointment or shameeditor's notes: The expression "beyond reproach" is often used to indicate that one must not only be careful to do everything right, but must be careful not to do anything that might make people suspect they did something wrong. For example, politicians often need to behave in a manner that is beyond reproach.
"Beyond reproach" can also suggest that something is perfect. More rarely, it can also be used to suggest that someone is too powerful or too well-connected to criticize.