ignominious

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adjective ig·no·min·i·ous \ˌig-nə-ˈmi-nē-əs\

Definition of ignominious

1 : marked with or characterized by disgrace or shame : dishonorable
2 : deserving of shame or infamy : despicable
3 : humiliating, degrading an ignominious defeat

ignominiously

adverb

ignominiousness

noun

See ignominious defined for English-language learners

See ignominious defined for kids

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Examples of ignominious in a Sentence

some of his friends considered the job of janitor 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 of ignominious from the Web

Two and a half days — before admitting bitter, ignominious defeat.

— tim woodward, idahostatesman, "Home improvement project got you down? Cheer up. This one was probably worse.," 14 July 2017
But the senator’s offer would let moderates and conservatives alike claim a symbolic victory — and avoid the ignominious prospect of working with Democrats to prop up Obamacare.

— eric levitz, Daily Intelligencer, "Ted Cruz Has a Proposal That Just Might Save Trumpcare," 29 June 2017
According to the State Department, China joins Russia, Syria and Iran in that ignominious distinction.

— barnini chakraborty, Fox News, "Trump turns up pressure on China amid N. Korea concerns," 27 June 2017
Their ignominious 18-3 bashing Saturday by the Washington Nationals incorporated everything that’s wrong with this team and franchise.

— paul daugherty, Cincinnati.com, "Doc: Patience, faith will get us through Reds' rebuild," 25 June 2017
Friday night’s game against the Rays provides the Orioles with an ignominious opportunity—to tie a nearly 100-year-old major league record by allowing five or more runs in 20 straight games.

— jon meoli, baltimoresun.com, "Five for Friday: Stats that stand out in Orioles' streak of 19 games with five runs allowed," 23 June 2017
The logo passed after a brief and ignominious battle with stage IV banality.

— rob walker, Fortune, "How Logos Became the Most Important Quarter-Inch in Business," 16 June 2017
This is a stunning, fascinating, and exciting development, especially for someone who cut his teeth reporting in Silicon Valley by covering the quick rise and ignominious fall of online grocer Webvan during the dot-com bubble of 1999-2000.

— adam lashinsky, Fortune, "Jeff Bezos as the Warren Buffett of the Information Age," 16 June 2017
By James Mahaffey Characters major and minor in the story of nuclear science come alive in Mahaffey’s lively, accessible retelling of some of the field’s more obscure (and sometimes ignominious) moments.

— gemma tarlach, Discover Magazine, "What to Read This Summer," 12 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ignominious.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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."