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ignominious

adjective
ig·​no·​min·​i·​ous | \ ËŒig-nÉ™-ˈmi-nÄ“-É™s How to pronounce ignominious (audio) \

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
Other Words from ignominious Synonyms & Antonyms Did You Know? More Example Sentences Learn More about ignominious

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Other Words from ignominious

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 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 on the Web

 Adie’s body was hastily buried along the shores of the country of Fife, in an ignominious spot. — Brigit Katz, Smithsonian, "Wanted: The Missing Bones of a Scottish ‘Witch’," 3 Sep. 2019 Despite the ignominious reputation, shark bites don’t appear to be deterring anyone from a nice day at the beach, evident by Volusia’s record breaking tourist season in 2018. — Joe Mario Pedersen, orlandosentinel.com, "Tourism thrives despite shark bite capital of the world title for Volusia County," 22 Aug. 2019 The majority of Illinois residents, many who seemed otherwise jaded by the state’s long, ignominious history of political corruption, expressed shock at what Blagojevich did. — Washington Post, "Trump, getting facts wrong, says he may free Blagojevich," 9 Aug. 2019 The majority of Illinois residents, many who seemed otherwise jaded by the state’s long, ignominious history of political corruption, expressed shock at what Blagojevich did. — Michael Tarm, The Denver Post, "Trump, getting facts wrong, says he may free Rod Blagojevich, who’s in a Colorado federal prison," 8 Aug. 2019 Neither player needed to go on the IL, and Torres was even back in the lineup, going 0 for 5 at DH and thus sparing them the ignominious distinction of having every player in their opening day lineup go on the IL at some point. — Dave Sheinin, courant.com, "Taking cues from Aaron Boone, Yankees are savages in pursuit of a championship," 6 Aug. 2019 The city also has the ignominious status as one of the poorest in the country. — Vince Guerrieri, Popular Mechanics, "That Time NASA Wanted to Build a Floating Airport on Lake Erie," 2 Aug. 2019 And, in that ignominious, pedestrian, uncompetitive 1-0 loss to the Citizens, Drinkwater had been the only player in Chelsea blue worthy of praise. — SI.com, "Danny Drinkwater: Set for the Greatest Comeback in Sporting History at Chelsea?," 19 July 2019 The event — and its ignominious end — is the subject of a discussion Thursday evening at the North Laurel Community Center. — John Kelly, Washington Post, "Before there was Woodstock, there was Laurel Pop, Maryland’s fiery rock festival," 10 July 2019

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.

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First Known Use of ignominious

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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More Definitions for ignominious

ignominious

adjective
How to pronounce ignominious (audio)

English Language Learners Definition of ignominious

formal : causing disgrace or shame

See the full definition for ignominious in the English Language Learners Dictionary

ignominious

adjective
ig·​no·​min·​i·​ous | \ ËŒig-nÉ™-ˈmi-nÄ“-É™s How to pronounce ignominious (audio) \

Kids Definition of ignominious

: disgraceful an ignominious defeat

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More from Merriam-Webster on ignominious

Rhyming Dictionary: Words that rhyme with ignominious

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for ignominious

Spanish Central: Translation of ignominious

Nglish: Translation of ignominious for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of ignominious for Arabic Speakers

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