stigmatize

[stig-muh-tahyz]

verb (used with object), stig·ma·tized, stig·ma·tiz·ing.

to set some mark of disgrace or infamy upon: The crime of the father stigmatized the whole family.

to mark with a stigma or brand.

to produce stigmata, marks, spots, or the like, on.

Also especially British, stig·ma·tise.

Origin of stigmatize

1575–85; < Medieval Latin stigmatizāre, equivalent to stigmat- (see stigmatic) + -izāre -ize

Related formsstig·ma·ti·za·tion, nounstig·ma·tiz·er, nounde·stig·ma·tize, verb (used with object), de·stig·ma·tized, de·stig·ma·tiz·ing.un·stig·ma·tized, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for destigmatize

stigmatize

stigmatise

verb (tr)

to mark out or describe (as something bad)

to mark with a stigma or stigmata

Derived Formsstigmatization or stigmatisation, nounstigmatizer or stigmatiser, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for destigmatize

stigmatize

1580s, "to brand or tattoo," from Medieval Latin stigmatizare, from Greek stigmatizein, from stigmat- (see stigma). Meaning "to blemish" is from 1610s (figurative), 1630s (literal). Related: Stigmatized; stigmatizing.