reprobate

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 12, 2022 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>reprobate</strong> &#149; \REP-ruh-bayt\&nbsp; &#149; <em>noun</em><br /> <p>A <em>reprobate</em> is an unprincipled or <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/depraved">depraved</a> person. Other names for such a being are <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scoundrel">scoundrel</a></em> and <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rogue">rogue</a></em>.</p> <p>// The <em>reprobate</em> preyed on well-to-do elderly women, who he would swindle out of their money.</p> <p><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reprobate">See the entry ></a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>"Dickens' classic novella, 'A Christmas Carol,' …. endures for many reasons, not the least of which is its redemptive theme in which Scrooge, a <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/curmudgeon">curmudgeon</a> and a <em>reprobate</em>, is able to find deliverance from his <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/obduracy">obduracy</a> and become a beacon of generosity, kindness and goodwill." — Emery Cummins, <em>The San Diego Union-Tribune</em>, 17 Dec. 2021</p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>The original reprobates were hardened sinners who had fallen from God's grace. In time, their name was used outside of religious contexts for any person who behaves in a morally wrong way. In Late Latin, <em>reprobare</em> means "to disapprove" or "to condemn."</p> <br /><br /> </p> </font>