Word of the Day Archive
Monday March 4, 2002
obloquy \OB-luh-kwee\ , noun:
1. Strongly condemnatory or abusive language or utterance.
2. The condition of disgrace suffered as a result of public blame, abuse, or condemnation; ill repute.
There he remained, weeping indignantly at her stream of obloquy, bitterly ashamed of his tears, until it was time for supper.
-- Jonathan Keates, Stendhal
Once installed in office he earned near-universal obloquy by pushing through the biggest tax increase in the state's history.
-- Dan Seligman, "The Taxophiliacs", Forbes, February 5, 2001
For Britain to have made a last imperial stand on the shores of the South China Sea would have risked local calamity and international obloquy.
-- Christopher Patten, East and West
Obloquy derives from Latin obloqui, "to speak against," from ob-, "against" + loqui, "to speak."
Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation for obloquy
