ignominious

adjective

ig·​no·​min·​i·​ous ˌig-nə-ˈmi-nē-əs How to pronounce ignominious (audio)
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."

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.
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 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 See all Example Sentences for ignominious 

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of ignominious was in the 15th century

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Dictionary Entries Near ignominious

Cite this Entry

“Ignominious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ignominious. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

ignominious

adjective
ig·​no·​min·​i·​ous ˌig-nə-ˈmin-ē-əs How to pronounce ignominious (audio)
: causing disgrace or shame
an ignominious defeat
ignominiously adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on ignominious

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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