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 Then, in 2017, Pilot Season came to a swift and ignominious end. Leila Jordan, Los Angeles Times, 28 Dec. 2023 Miami men running out of chances to avoid ignominious fall: The Canes unexpectedly reached the men’s Final Four for the first time last spring. Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 18 Feb. 2024 The state media’s interest had shifted to a decidedly domestic preoccupation: the president’s effort to redeem a popular musician who had died under ignominious circumstances eight years earlier. Gisela Salim-Peyer, The Atlantic, 17 Feb. 2024 In the eight years between the drug’s spectacular 2016 debut on the cover of Nature and its ignominious end, Biogen made multiple, really bad decisions. Jason Karlawish, STAT, 6 Feb. 2024 The 49ers’ regular season, with all its ups and downs, ended in ignominious fashion. Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 7 Jan. 2024 Certainly, the presence of quarterback Bo Nix gives the Ducks a chance to end an ignominious streak: The loser of the Pac-12 championship has never won its bowl game. Jon Wilner, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Dec. 2023 The Marvel Cinematic Universe set an ignominious record at the box office as its latest film The Marvels debuted with $47 million, the lowest-opening weekend in the history of the MCU. Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 12 Nov. 2023 Admittedly, what’s deemed acceptable has changed through the years, and evoking the past is made thornier by Hollywood’s ignominious history of having White actors stand in for underrepresented groups, including Blacks, Hispanics, Native-Americans and Asians. Brian Lowry, CNN, 25 Aug. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ignominious.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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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Cite this Entry

“Ignominious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ignominious. Accessed 19 Mar. 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

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