inglorious
Americanadjective
-
shameful; disgraceful.
inglorious retreat.
- Synonyms:
- dishonorable
- Antonyms:
- praiseworthy, admirable
-
not famous or honored.
adjective
-
without courage or glory; dishonourable, shameful, or disgraceful
-
unknown or obscure
Other Word Forms
- ingloriously adverb
- ingloriousness noun
Etymology
Origin of inglorious
From the Latin word inglōrius, dating back to 1565–75. See in- 3, glorious
Explanation
Something inglorious is shameful or disgraceful. An inglorious end to a politician's career might include evidence that he bought people's votes and lied about his educational background. You could call World War II a generally inglorious period in Germany's history, or talk about a southern US city with an inglorious record of bias against African Americans. And if your favorite basketball team loses every game, they have an inglorious season. Inglorious adds the "not" prefix in- to glorious, from its Latin root gloriosus, "full of glory" or "famous."
Vocabulary lists containing inglorious
Unit 1: Telling Details
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"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce
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Vocabulary from Readings 2, Unit 1
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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.
And because most would-be artists fail, the many “mute inglorious Miltons,” as the poet Thomas Gray labeled them, remain unknown.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026
It is not Smith’s fault that his investigation has reached such a premature and inglorious end.
From Slate • Nov. 25, 2024
Working the PK is often a thankless, inglorious task, but one that was key to the Kings’ success in the regular season.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 30, 2024
The show has the inglorious distinction of being the last live-action scripted show on TBS, so enjoy it while it lasts.
From New York Times • Jul. 20, 2023
To that extent, we can all fancy ourselves potential artists—mute, inglorious Miltons.
From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson
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.
