ignoble
Americanadjective
-
of low character, aims, etc.; mean; base.
his ignoble purposes.
- Synonyms:
- contemptible, ignominious, dishonorable, degraded
- Antonyms:
- honorable
-
of low grade or quality; inferior.
- Antonyms:
- superior
-
not noble; of humble descent or rank.
-
Falconry. noting any hawk with short wings that chases or rakes after the quarry.
adjective
-
dishonourable; base; despicable
-
of low birth or origins; humble; common
-
of low quality; inferior
-
falconry
-
designating short-winged hawks that capture their quarry by swiftness and adroitness of flight Compare noble
-
designating quarry which is inferior or unworthy of pursuit by a particular species of hawk or falcon
-
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of ignoble
1400–50; late Middle English < Latin ignōbilis unknown, inglorious, equivalent to in- in- 3 + OL gnōbilis ( Latin nōbilis ) noble
Explanation
Ignoble means not noble, but for those of us that don’t live in feudal England and don’t worry about lords or peasants, ignoble just means base, or low, like that dude in Biology who’s always telling fart jokes. Ignoble means low, common, or humble, but we tend to use it to describe the lows of human nature, rather than economically humble people or places. So a picturesquely crumbing rustic cottage or a cool old diner is not ignoble, but perhaps a sketchy roadside bar is. Those that think that the human mind is the treasure of the world disdain ignoble animals like pigs or dogs––after all, they can’t compose lovely poems like we can.
Vocabulary lists containing ignoble
"The Odyssey" by Homer, Books 8–13
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The ignoble battle ends when a neighbor, Mrs. Prothero, shouts that her house is on fire, “announcing ruin like a town crier in Pompeii.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 19, 2025
“It has these very ignoble beginnings,” said Mark P. Nevitt, a law professor at Emory University and one of the country’s foremost experts on the statute.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 28, 2025
Until the events of “Through the Valley,” the second “The Last of Us” episode of Season 2, the Stark paterfamilias' ignoble demise was the most agonizing turn of all.
From Salon ● Apr. 21, 2025
In the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the parliament, opposition MP Derek O'Brien was suspended for "ignoble conduct" after he shouted slogans demanding a statement from Home Minister Amit Shah.
From BBC ● Dec. 14, 2023
He says, “Matt, I get how you feel because you’re a basically ignoble kind of kid.”
From "The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle" by Leslie Connor
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
