ignominious

adjective

ig·no·min·i·ous ˌig-nə-ˈmi-nē-əs

Synonyms of ignominious next

: humiliating, degrading

an ignominious defeat

: deserving of shame or infamy : despicable

: 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."

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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

The record seasons coincided with what is known as baseball's ignominious Steroid Era. —

Kerry J. Byrne Fox News, Fox News, 30 Sep. 2024 Two years ago, Altuve led the league in that ignominious category. —

Chandler Rome, The Athletic, 28 Aug. 2024 Take Sean Spicer, who followed up his brief and ignominious run as Trump’s press secretary by immediately donning a ruffled neon shirt and dancing the flamenco (poorly) on DWTS’s 28th season. —

Ej Dickson, Rolling Stone, 4 Sep. 2024 Jace is then killed by crossbow fire, an ignominious end to the young, ambitious prince. —

James Grebey, Vulture, 4 Aug. 2024 See all Example Sentences for ignominious