stigma
a mark of disgrace or infamy; a stain or reproach, as on one's reputation.
Medicine/Medical.
a mental or physical mark that is characteristic of a defect or disease: the stigmata of leprosy.
a place or point on the skin that bleeds during certain mental states, as in hysteria.
Zoology.
a small mark, spot, or pore on an animal or organ.
the eyespot of a protozoan.
an entrance into the respiratory system of insects.
Botany. the part of a pistil that receives the pollen.
stigmata, marks resembling the wounds of the crucified body of Christ, said to be supernaturally impressed on the bodies of certain persons, especially nuns, tertiaries, and monastics.
Archaic. a mark made by a branding iron on the skin of a criminal or slave.
Origin of stigma
1Other words for stigma
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use stigma in a sentence
Robin the gardener brought up the rear, his body all shaking with his infirmity, and showing the divine stigmata on his hands.
The Merrie Tales Of Jacques Tournebroche | Anatole FranceMany of these early suicides have distinct tendencies to and stigmata of hebephrenic melancholia.
Essays In Pastoral Medicine | Austin MalleyThus in the family of the rose-tree, we are told that the ovules are very rarely erect, the stigmata usually simple.
A System of Logic: Ratiocinative and Inductive | John Stuart MillAll three were profoundly convinced of the truth of the stigmata and of the miracle.
Journal in France in 1845 and 1848 with Letters from Italy in 1847 | T. W. (Thomas William) AlliesHe saw the stigmata on her hands, which we did not, as her sleeves covered them.
Journal in France in 1845 and 1848 with Letters from Italy in 1847 | T. W. (Thomas William) Allies
British Dictionary definitions for stigma
/ (ˈstɪɡmə) /
a distinguishing mark of social disgrace: the stigma of having been in prison
a small scar or mark such as a birthmark
pathol
any mark on the skin, such as one characteristic of a specific disease
any sign of a mental deficiency or emotional upset
botany the receptive surface of a carpel, where deposited pollen germinates
zoology
a pigmented eyespot in some protozoans and other invertebrates
the spiracle of an insect
archaic a mark branded on the skin
(plural) Christianity marks resembling the wounds of the crucified Christ, believed to appear on the bodies of certain individuals
Origin of stigma
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for stigma
[ stĭg′mə ]
The sticky tip of a flower pistil, on which pollen is deposited at the beginning of pollination. See more at flower.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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