Ignominious Meaning
/ˌɪɡ.nə(ʊ)ˈmɪ.ni.əs/Definition, CEFR level C2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Definition
adjMarked by great disgrace, dishonour, humiliation, or shame; disgraceful, shameful.
adjEspecially of a person: deserving of disgrace or dishonour; contemptible, despicable.
Sentence Examples
Synonyms & Antonyms
Word Origin & History
From Late Middle English ignominious (“disgraceful, shameful”), from Middle French ignominieux (modern French ignominieux), or from its etymon Latin ignōminiōsus (“disgraced; disgraceful, shameful, ignominious”), from ignōminia (“disgrace, dishonour, shame, ignominy”) + -ōsus (suffix meaning ‘full of; overly; prone to’ forming adjectives from nouns). Ignōminia is derived from ig- (variant of in- (prefix meaning not) + nōmen (“name; good name, reputation”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥ (“name”)) + -ia (suffix forming feminine abstract nouns). By surface analysis, ignominy + -ious (suffix forming adjectives from nouns denoting the presence of a quality in any degree, typically an abundance).