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

• ignominiousness
  noun
• ignominious
  adjective
• ignominiously
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• 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

Had Homer, or any other admir’d Author, first started into Publick so, maim’d and deform’d, we cannot determine whether they had not sunk for ever under the Ignominy of such an ill Appearance.

From Preface to the Works of Shakespeare (1734) by Dick, Hugh G.

Ignominy in ransom, and free pardon, Are of two houses: lawful mercy is Nothing akin to foul redemption.

From Characteristics of Women Moral, Poetical, and Historical by Jameson, Mrs. (Anna)

Had Homer, or any other admir'd Author, first started into Publick so maim'd and deform'd, we cannot determine whether they had not sunk for ever under the Ignominy of such an ill Appearance.

From Eighteenth Century Essays on Shakespeare by Smith, David Nichol

Ignominy, is the infliction of such Evill, as is made Dishonorable; or the deprivation of such Good, as is made Honourable by the Common-wealth.

From Leviathan by Hobbes, Thomas