stigmatize

1 of 2

verb

stig·​ma·​tize ˈstig-mə-ˌtīz 

stigmatized; stigmatizing; stigmatizes

transitive verb

1

a

: to describe or regard (something, such as a characteristic or group of people) in a way that shows strong disapproval

"… Academic ableism accentuates ability and stigmatizes any weakness. …"

—Michele Cooke

The campaign strives to educate individuals and communities about mental illness to the point where they understand it well enough not to stigmatize it, which is similar to what's happened with physical illnesses over time.

—MacKenzie Tastan

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) and other substance use problems are considered diseases like any other, but are stigmatized as moral failure by many.

—Marcelo Campos

b

archaic : brand

2

: to mark with stigmata

stigmatization

ˌstig-mə-tə-ˈzā-shən 

noun

stigmatization

2 of 2

noun

stig·​ma·​ti·​za·​tion

variants also British stigmatisation

ˌstigmətə̇ˈzāshən, 

-mətə̇ˈz-, 

-məˌtīˈz-

plural -s

1

: an act or instance of stigmatizing

a government stigmatization which would deter the public from consideration of the opinions of the party

—Civil Liberty

2

: the production of what are believed to be supernatural stigmata on the body

Examples of stigmatize in a Sentence

Verb

a legal system that stigmatizes juveniles as criminals

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

For many teens, real care is hard to find, expensive, or stigmatized. — Ryan McBain, STAT, 2 July 2026

And employees often avoid discussing stigmatized health conditions with managers or human resources. — Brian Castrucci, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026

The book came out when mental illness was heavily stigmatized; Styron paved the way for authors to write about their own struggles with depression and similar disorders. — Michael Schaub, Oc Register, 25 June 2026

Research has also shown that AI chatbots reproduce stigmatized messages about certain mental health conditions such as alcoholism and schizophrenia. — Allison Parshall, Scientific American, 18 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

probably from (assumed) New Latin stigmatization-, stigmatizatio, from Medieval Latin stigmatizatus (past participle of stigmatizare to stigmatize) + Latin -ion-, -io -ion

First Known Use

Verb

1585, in the meaning defined at sense 1b

Rhymes for stigmatize

• advertise
• aggrandize
• alibis
• alkalies
• alkalis
• amortize
• amplifies
• analyse
• analyze
• anywise
• authorize
• butterflies

Kids Definition

stigmatize

verb

stig·​ma·​tize ˈstig-mə-ˌtīz 

stigmatized; stigmatizing

: to mark with a stigma

especially : to describe or identify as disgraceful