Arabic word sheet
مُنْكَرٌ
Reprehensible act
- Type
- noun
- Root
- ن ك ر
Meaning and usage
Reprehensible act
Any deed or saying that people of sound judgment reject and hold to be ugly or bad. It is the opposite of what is recognised as good.
عَدَّ الْمُعَلِّمُ الْغِشَّ مُنْكَرًا.
The teacher counted cheating as a reprehensible act.
Unknown, unrecognised
Said of a person or thing that one does not know or does not recognise.
رَأَى الْبَوَّابُ وَجْهًا مُنْكَرًا عِنْدَ الْبَابِ.
The doorman saw an unknown face at the door.
Found strange, implausible
Said of a statement or a fact that one finds strange, hard to believe, and refuses to admit.
كَانَ كَلَامُ الشَّاهِدِ مُنْكَرًا عِنْدَ الْقَاضِي.
The witness's words were implausible in the judge's eyes.
Plural
مُنْكَرَاتٌ / مَنَاكِيرُ
Word family
What the root means ن ك ر
The root carries the idea of not knowing, of not recognising a thing. What the mind does not recognise it refuses: hence denying, finding strange and disapproving, and the word for what is judged bad; the same root also says of a matter that it turns hard or grave.
to fail to recognise, to deny
أَنْكَرَ
denial, rejection
إِنْكَارٌ
something unknown
نَكِرَةٌ
a grave, dreadful thing
نُكْرٌ
to change beyond recognition
تَنَكَّرَ
to find strange, to disapprove
اِسْتَنْكَرَ
Synonyms
unknown
مَجْهُولٌ
Matches the headword only in its sense of 'unknown'; it carries no blame.
Opposites
known; what is recognised as good