[ noun ] an act or expression of criticism and censure <noun.communication> he had to take the rebuke with a smile on his face
Savage denied a report in The Chicago Tribune that the committee issued a "letter of reproval" against him _ the mildest sanction available to the panel.
The Ethics Committee merely issued a "letter of reproval," the mildest form of punishment possible.
"Your improper conduct and concurrent violations of relevant standards deserve reproval," the four-term San Diego Democrat was told in a letter from Committee Chairman Julian C. Dixon, D-Calif. and ranking Republican John T. Myers of Indiana.