unreprovableadj.
/(ˌ)ʌnrᵻˈpruːvəbl/, U.S. /ˌənrəˈpruvəb(ə)l/ Now rare.
That cannot be reproved; above reproof, irreproachable.Chiefly in predicative use.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > virtue > absence of moral flaw > [adjective] > above reproach
unreprovablea1382
irreprehensiblec1384
irreprevablec1440
irreprovable?1504
unrebukable1530
unblameable?1537
unreproachable1578
unaccusable1582
irreproachable1634
unimpeachable1785
uncensurable1821
sanctorum1824
Simon Pure1835
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > perfection > [adjective] > irreproachable
faultlessc1400
uncriticizable1775
reproachless1801
unquizzable1829
reproofless1832
unreprovable1851
unaccusable1853
airtight1901
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Tobit x. 13 Monestende hir..to gouerne the hous, to ȝiue hirself vnreprefable [L. inreprehensibilem].
c1430 (c1386) G. Chaucer Legend Good Women (Cambr. Gg.4.27) (1879) l. 691 Vnreprouable on to myn wyfhod ay The same wolde I fele lyf or deth.
c1460 Tree & 12 Frutes (McClean) (1960) 125 A bisshop..must be in al his living vnreproueable [v.r. onrepreuable].
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. ccxxvii In life and conuersacion vnreprouable.
1581 J. Bell tr. W. Haddon & J. Foxe Against Jerome Osorius 76 b Whose wordes and deedes we may accoumpt without exception unreproveable.
1615 G. Sandys Relation of Journey 135 She was..of life vnreproueable.
1635 E. Pagitt Christianographie i. i. 4 Historiographers, and other unreproveable Authors.
1712 R. Steele Spectator No. 302. ⁋14 Ye guardian Angels,..lead her gently hence innocent and unreprovable to a better Place.
1791 W. Cowper tr. Homer Iliad in Iliad & Odyssey I. ix. 650 Thy wrath was unreproveable and just.
1851 J. Ruskin Stones of Venice I. xxvii. 305 His work is absolutely unreproveable.
1940 Jrnl. Biblical Lit. 59 44 Paul wants them to be unreprovable ‘in the day of the Lord’.
Derivatives
ˌunreˈprovableness n.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > virtue > absence of moral flaw > [noun]
integrity1561
unblamableness1638
unreprovableness1659
impeccableness1696
irreproach1793
unimpeachableness1817
irreproachableness1828
unimpeachability1830
irreproachability1833
1659 H. Hammond Paraphr. & Annot. Psalms 574/2 Their testimonies..were wont to mention the uprightnesse of the persons faith, unreprovablenesse of his life, and his degree in the Church, if he had any.
1680 W. Clagett Answer 24 in Disc. Operations Holy Spirit ii The unreprovableness of the Spiritual man in assenting to the mysteries of the Gospel.
1717 R. Hele Select Offices Private Devotion 31 By the Unreproveableness of their Faith, and the Unblamableness of their Lives.
1886 Morning Light 2 Jan. 4/2 His progress in the path of holiness and unreprovableness can be checked.
ˌunreˈprovably adv.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > virtue > absence of moral flaw > [adverb] > in a manner above reproach
unreprovably1535
unblameably1539
irreprovably1599
irreprehensibly1611
irreproachably1705
unimpeachably1821
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Luke i. A They were both righteous before God, and walked in all the commaundementes and statutes of the Lorde vnreproueably [L. sine querella].
1656 R. Sanderson 20 Serm. 379 See to it..; that you walk orderly and unreprovably your selues.
1702 S. Slater Disc. Preciousness God's Thoughts 68 To justifie Believers..is an Act of special Mercy and rich Grace, and yet in the doing thereof God is unreprovably Just.
1840 Confidence in God vii. 194 People are well entitled to expect to see us walking unblamably and unreprovably before all.
1911 Jrnl. Presbyterian Hist. Soc. Dec. 109 We praise Thee that he fulfilled his ministry unblamably, unreprovably in Thy sight.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2014; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adj.a1382