ignominy

American  

[ig-nuh-min-ee, ig-nom-uh-nee] / ˈɪg nəˌmɪn i, ɪgˈnɒm ə ni /

noun

ignominies plural

1. disgrace; dishonor; public contempt.

   Synonyms:

   opprobrium, obloquy, shame, discredit, disrepute

   Antonyms:

   honor, credit

2. shameful or dishonorable quality or conduct or an instance of this.

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ignominy British  

/ ˈɪɡnəˌmɪnɪ /

noun

1. disgrace or public shame; dishonour

2. a cause of disgrace; a shameful act

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Synonym Usage

See disgrace.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• ignominiously
  adverb
• ignominiousness
  noun
• ignominious
  adjective

Inflected Forms

noun

• ignominies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of ignominy

1530–40; < Latin ignōminia, equivalent to ig- (for in- in- ³, apparently by association with ignōbilis ignoble, ignōtus unknown, etc.; cf. cognomen) + nōmin- (stem of nōmen ) name + -ia -y ³

Explanation

If you walk into class in your underwear, you'll know what the word ignominy means. Ignominy is a noun meaning great public shame, disgrace, or embarrassment, or a situation or event that causes this. The shame can be major or minor: someone can suffer the ignominy of defeat or the ignominies of old age. When pronouncing this word, the main accent is on the first syllable, and the secondary accent is on the third syllable. Ignominy is from Latin the ignominia, formed from the prefix in-, "no, not," plus nomen, "name." The implication is that if someone has suffered ignominy, they have lost their good name or reputation.

Example Sentences

Ignominy on Two Wheels The secret can be traced to a few tottering rides in Lower Manhattan, with a father and his boy and the afternoons that eventually dissolved their patience.

From New York Times • Aug. 10, 2012

Ignominy, degradation, and the block were all that impended for him in this world, and they were very imminent.

From Bardelys the Magnificent; being an account of the strange wooing pursued by the Sieur Marcel de Saint-Pol, marquis of Bardelys... by Sabatini, Rafael

Ignominy, ig′nō-min-i, n. the loss of one's good name: public disgrace: infamy—formerly also Ig′nomy.—adj.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various

Ignominy, banishment, or likely enough death for the truth!

From The Chocolate Soldier Heroism—The Lost Chord of Christianity by Studd, C. T.

And Heaven be likewise praised, say I, Monsieur de Cros is not the Dispenser of Scandal and Ignominy.

From An Answer to a Scurrilous Pamplet [1693] by Anonymous