stigmatize

American  

[stig-muh-tahyz] / ˈstɪg məˌtaɪz /

especially British, stigmatise

verb (used with object)

stigmatized, stigmatizing

1. to set some mark of disgrace or infamy upon.

   The crime of the father stigmatized the whole family.

2. to mark with a stigma or brand.

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

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stigmatize British  

/ ˈstɪɡməˌtaɪz /

verb

1. to mark out or describe (as something bad)

2. to mark with a stigma or stigmata

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Other Word Forms

• destigmatize verb (used with object)
• stigmatization noun
• stigmatizer noun
• unstigmatized adjective

Etymology

Origin of stigmatize

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

Example Sentences

Critics of involuntary civil-commitment programs argue they violate civil liberties and stigmatize mental illness.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 11, 2026

Many feared the decision could further stigmatize the shot in a moment when many parents are refusing it simply because the recommendation is under review.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 4, 2025

The behaviors that Gerdes' bill seeks to stigmatize are — as any person who has ever met a child or been a child could tell you — entirely normal forms of play.

From Salon • May 12, 2025

Virologists have also come to acknowledge that names can stigmatize people or places.

From Science Magazine • Apr. 3, 2024

His lordship's readiness to stigmatize, and even silence him, in this manner, wore any appearance but that of an honourable anxiety to meet and to defy his adversary.

From Secret History of the Court of England, from the Accession of George the Third to the Death of George the Fourth, Volume II (of 2) Including, Among Other Important Matters, Full Particulars of the Mysterious Death of the Princess Charlotte by Hamilton, Lady Anne