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

Only in the last half decade or so, with the ignominious collapse of these projects, has the United States again turned back toward retrenchment, at least for now. —Erez Manela, Foreign Affairs, 14 Dec. 2021

Graphic contemporary news footage shows Mussolini’s ignominious end, when his abused corpse was publicly flayed by anyone who wanted to take a whack at it. —Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline, 5 Sep. 2024

Instead, Bush’s speech in Kyiv was an ignominious start to the U.S.-Ukrainian relationship that could have easily been avoided. —Alexander Vindman, Foreign Affairs, 8 Aug. 2022

After an ignominious year as the city’s foremost migrant services provider, the Adams administration is parting ways with DocGo and its wasteful emergency contract. —New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 11 Apr. 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