dishonorable discharge
6
6.7
- noun
- /dɪsˈɒnərəbəl dɪsˈtʃɑrdʒ/
- Formal
:
deshonra
- They might not kick you out for that, but it would be a dishonorable discharge if they did.
- receive a dishonorable discharge
- give a dishonorable discharge
- dishonorable discharge after serving
Examples
-
His record included a dishonorable discharge from the Canadian army - and felonious assaults.
-
He was given a dishonorable discharge.
-
That was a dishonorable discharge.
Fiction book (2002) -
Alright, where he wins the Navy cross and then gets a dishonorable discharge
-
As a result, he received a dishonorable discharge after serving some time in a military prison, which was something Harley threw back at him whenever they got into a bad shouting match.
Fiction book (2001) -
As his attorney, Smith managed to quash criminal charges, but couldn't stave off Tony's dishonorable discharge from the MPD.
Fiction book (1990) -
He received a dishonorable discharge after being found guilty of misconduct.
-
The soldier's actions resulted in a dishonorable discharge from the military.
-
Following the investigation, she was facing a dishonorable discharge for her serious offenses.
Antonyms
- Formal
7
4.2
An official release from the military when someone leaves with a good record
How Severe
- Formal
6
6.7
- Jargon
2
8.6
70
3.3
- Formal
289
4.2
- Formal
33
6.1
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is directly analyzable: 'dishonorable' means shameful or lacking moral principles and 'discharge' (in a military context) means release or removal from service, so the combined meaning — removal from the armed forces for misconduct — is transparent. This adjective+noun composition follows regular English patterns and is likely inferable by a B1 learner who knows both constituent words.
Etymology
Dishonorable discharge comes from military speech: discharge means to send someone out of service and dishonorable marks that the person left with shame because of bad behaviour. So the phrase now means being formally 'removed from the armed forces' for a serious offence.