rhizoverbBeta
DictionarydeploreStrong disapproval
verb

deplore

di-PLOR/dɪˈplɔːr/

To express deep distress or disapproval about something.

The older woman deplores the littering and points at the trash.

An older woman visibly deplores a younger woman's littering: she looks directly at the litterer with an appalled, deeply disapproving expression, pointing to the freshly discarded rubbish while raising her other palm in rejection.
Etymology
deLatinentirely
+ploreLatinto weep; cry out

Here de- strengthens “weep” rather than reversing it: the original image is wholehearted lamentation. That sense of bewailing something connects the word to deep regret and strong disapproval.

In context

Phenomenology Club3:38
it's one thing to deplore Eugenics on ideological political moral grounds it's quite another to conclude that it wouldn't work in practice
The Ethics of Eugenics

More examples

  • We deplore the needless loss of life.
  • Residents deplore the city's decision to close the library.
  • She publicly deplored the cruel treatment of the workers.

Forms

deplore · deplores · deplored · deploring

deplorable adjective — Deserving strong disapproval or deep regret.

Similar words

condemn
States a stronger judgment that something is wrong or unacceptable.
regret
Emphasizes sorrow or remorse rather than an expression of disapproval.
lament
Emphasizes grief over a loss rather than moral disapproval.