noun
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disgrace or public shame; dishonour
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a cause of disgrace; a shameful act
Synonym Usage
See disgrace.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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.
Vocabulary lists containing ignominy
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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.
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 and shame Pursue thy life and live aye with thy name!
From Troilus and Cressida by Shakespeare, William
Ignominy in ransom and free pardon Are of two houses; lawful mercy Is nothing kin to foul redemption.
From Measure for Measure by Shakespeare, William
Peace, Ignominy, and Destruction," the satirist thus alludes:-"I thought I understood something of faces; but I must read my Lavater over again I find.
From The Letters of Horace Walpole, Earl of Orford — Volume 4 by Walpole, Horace
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.
