ignominious
adjective
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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
Examples of ignominious in a Sentence
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 
Dictionary Entries Near ignominious
Cite this Entry
“Ignominious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ignominious. Accessed 25 Nov. 2024.
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ignominious
adjective
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