reputation

/ˌɹɛpjʊˈteɪʃən/

reputation means what somebody or something is known for. It carries an Arena rating of 1328, earned across 5 head-to-head judged battles.

Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, reputation ranks #779 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #2,979 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #5,975 of 17,104 for Most Storied Words, #6,587 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words.

reputation is pronounced /ˌɹɛpjʊˈteɪʃən/.

Why “reputation” is a great word

The collective, considered judgment of a person or entity held by others, originating from the Latin reputātiōnem (nominative reputātiō), meaning 'consideration, thinking over,' from reputō ('reflect upon, reckon'), itself from re- ('again') + putō ('reckon, consider'), first attested in English in the 14th century. Unlike 'fame,' which is the stark fact of being widely known, or 'character,' which is the internal ledger of one's qualities, reputation is the external, often imperfect, balance sheet drawn up by the world. It is the whispered accounting in the corridor before you enter, the weight of a name that arrives before the body, the stubborn aftertaste that lingers long after the meal is done. We do not possess it; we merely tend it, a public reckoning conducted in absentia, forever incomplete.

Etymology

14c. "credit, good reputation", from Middle English reputacion, reputacioun, reputation, reputatioun, from Anglo-Norman reputacion, reputacioun, Middle French reputation (French réputation), and their etymon Latin reputātiōnem (“consideration, thinking over”), noun of action from past participle stem of reputō (“reflect upon, reckon, count over”), from the prefix re- (“again”) + putō (“reckon, consider”). By surface analysis, repute + -ation. Displaced native Old English hlīsa (“reputation, fame”)

noun

What somebody or something is known for.e.g.“The new manager has a reputation for being a stickler for details.”

Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Words closest in meaning

By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.

reputability 72% match — The property of being reputable, a person's reputation. vs reputation →
reputableness 68% match — The quality of being reputable. vs reputation →
reputational 68% match — Of or pertaining to reputation vs reputation →
renown 65% match — Fame; celebrity; wide recognition. vs reputation →
reputationally 65% match — In terms of reputation. vs reputation →
prestige 63% match — The quality of how good the reputation of something or someone is, how favourably something or someone is regarded. vs reputation →
webutation 59% match — A person's or company's reputation on the World Wide Web. vs reputation →
reputedly 59% match — According to repute or general belief. vs reputation →