ignominious

[ ig-nuh-min-ee-uhs ]

adjective

1. marked by or attended with ignominy; discreditable; humiliating:

   an ignominious retreat.

   Synonyms: shameful, dishonorable, disgraceful, degrading

2. bearing or deserving ignominy; contemptible.

   Synonyms: ignoble, despicable

Other Words From

• igno·mini·ous·ly adverb
• igno·mini·ous·ness noun
• nonig·no·mini·ous adjective
• nonig·no·mini·ous·ly adverb
• nonig·no·mini·ous·ness noun
• unig·no·mini·ous adjective
• unig·no·mini·ous·ly adverb
• unig·no·mini·ous·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of ignominious¹

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English word from Latin word ignōminiōsus. See ignominy, -ous

Example Sentences

At the same time, other airplane programs, both commercial and military, were plagued with problems, and its effort to catch up with Elon Musk’s SpaceX program supplying astronaut-carrying capsules to NASA suffered repeated and ignominious failures.

From The Daily Beast

Paleontologists consistently portrayed these animals as vicious and solitary predators whose terrible reign had come to a sudden and ignominious end at the close of the Cretaceous period.

From Nautilus

The ignominious outcome of David’s tenure at the Human Rights Campaign comes after two years with him at the helm of the organization.

From Washington Blade

Images of the ignominious withdrawal flip through their minds like a slide deck.

From Time

To be sure, the Rohingya crisis was an ignominious episode for her but it is not as though the West did anything for the Rohingya either, beyond issuing condemnations.

From Time

A repatriation ceremony would help bury the ignominious squabbles of the past.

From The Daily Beast

It was two years after the ignominious end of the Vietnam War and three years after Watergate.

From The Daily Beast

International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn's ignominious downfall was more than a personal call to account.

From The Daily Beast

Mike Castle deserved better than this ugly, ignominious end.

From The Daily Beast

Zidane is famous for providing both the greatest and the most ignominious moments in French World Cup history.

From The Daily Beast

I betray my beloved parent's confidence, to save you from a certain and ignominious death.

From Project Gutenberg

Tom pitched forward heavily, saving himself and his animal from an ignominious accident just in the nick of time.

From Project Gutenberg

To be checkmated by an 'errant' pawn in the very middle of the board is a most ignominious way of losing the game.

From Project Gutenberg

The ignominious failure of the attacks on Somers and Burnet seemed to prove that the assembly was coming round to a better temper.

From Project Gutenberg

But, as his rhyme ended with such an ignominious fizzle, he hurried away with a snort of disgust.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• disgraceful
• embarrassing
• shameful