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
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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 22 Nov. 2024.
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ignominious
adjective
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