All 13 Uses
reproach
in
Brideshead Revisited
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- —as I lay in that dark hour, I was aghast to realize that something within me, long sickening, had quietly died, and felt as a husband might feel, who, in the fourth year of his marriage, suddenly knew that he had no longer any desire, or tenderness, or esteem, for a once-beloved wife; no pleasure in her company, no wish to please, no curiosity about anything she might ever do or say or think; no hope of setting things right, no self-reproach for the disaster.†
p. 6.5reproach = a criticism; or to express criticism
- When I told the sergeant-major of these orders he said: "Poor old 'C' Company struck unlucky again"; and I knew this to be a reproach for my having antagonized the commanding officer.†
p. 15.1
- "Yes," I said, but it was with a sense of grievance that I faced Lunt's reproaches next morning.†
p. 31.4reproaches = criticizes; or criticisms
- Thus I spent the first afternoon at home, wandering from room to room, looking from the plate-glass windows in turn on the garden and the street, in a mood of vehement self-reproach.†
p. 68.5reproach = a criticism; or to express criticism
- My father fixed him with a look of reproach.†
p. 76.1
- That is the single reproach I have to set against her abundant kindness to me.†
p. 122.8
- Her only reproach was: "I can't think why you went off and stayed with Mr. Mottram.†
p. 138.5
- Mr. Samgrass gave evidence that Sebastian bore an irreproachable character and that a brilliant future at the University was in jeopardy.†
p. 139.2 *irreproachable = beyond criticismstandard affixes: The prefix ir- is often used in front of words that start with R to mean not. That reverses the meaning of the word as seen in words like irrational, irregular, and irresistible. The suffix "-able" means able to be. This is the same pattern you see in words like breakable, understandable, and comfortable.
- "I'm not going to reproach you," she said.†
p. 194.1reproach = a criticism; or to express criticism
- God knows it's not for me to reproach anyone.†
p. 194.1
- My wife was able to make it understood that the business was at the same time a matter of congratulation for her and reproach for me; that she had behaved wonderfully, had stood it longer than anyone but she would have done.†
p. 343.4
- The word reproached me; there was no past tense in Cordelia's verb "to love."†
p. 354.4reproached = criticized
- Need I reproach myself if sometimes I was taken by the vision?†
p. 372.1reproach = a criticism; or to express criticism
Definitions:
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(1)
(reproach) a criticism; or to express criticism or disappointment -- especially where a relationship makes the disapproval result in disappointment or shameThe 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. - (2) (meaning too rare to warrant focus)