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
Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 8 Apr. 2024
That ignominious milestone is held by the St. Louis Browns/Baltimore Orioles from 1937-1955.
—Evan Webeck, The Mercury News, 28 Mar. 2024
See all Example Sentences for ignominious 
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.
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“Ignominious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ignominious. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
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ignominious
adjective
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