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

As for her team, the Finals loss was New York’s fifth defeat in five appearances, making the Liberty the holder of two ignominious titles: the franchise with the most Finals appearances without a win and the only original WNBA franchise without a championship. —Rohan Nadkarni, NBC News, 10 Oct. 2024

This season, the Sox have posted ignominious mark after ignominious mark. —Rohan Nadkarni, NBC News, 28 Sep. 2024

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

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