ignominious

adjective

ig·​no·​min·​i·​ous ˌig-nə-ˈmi-nē-əs 

1

: humiliating, degrading

an ignominious defeat

2

: deserving of shame or infamy : despicable

3

: marked with or characterized by disgrace or shame : dishonorable

ignominiously adverb

ignominiousness noun

Did you know?

The "-nom-" of "ignominious" comes from "nomen," the Latin word for "name" or "repute." (It's also the root of "misnomer," "nomenclature," and "nominal," among others.) The "ig-" part of the word is akin to the negative prefix in-; when joined to the root "-nom-," it indicates the namelessness that goes with shame or dishonor. To suffer an ignominious fate is to lose the opportunity to make a name for oneself or to lose one's good name. When "ignominious" was first borrowed from a French form of the word in the 15th century, it meant "disgraced" or "dishonorable." "Ignominious" continues to have such meanings, but it also has somewhat milder meanings - "embarrassing" and "humiliating."

Synonyms

• discreditable
• disgraceful
• dishonorable
• disreputable
• infamous
• louche
• notorious
• opprobrious
• shady
• shameful
• shoddy
• shy
• unrespectable

Examples of ignominious in a Sentence

some of his friends considered the low-level job to be an ignominious fate for the laid-off executive

the prison guards degraded themselves with their inhumane, ignominious treatment of the prisoners

Recent Examples on the Web

One frequent topic of discussion at Thursday’s event was whether crypto has much of a role in finance’s future, particularly given the ignominious past couple of years in the blockchain world. —Byleo Schwartz, Fortune, 20 May 2024

Last year, the union called off the strike without winning any concessions – an ignominious defeat. —Patrik Jonsson, The Christian Science Monitor, 14 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

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Kids Definition

ignominious

adjective

ig·​no·​min·​i·​ous ˌig-nə-ˈmin-ē-əs 

: causing disgrace or shame

an ignominious defeat

ignominiously adverb