Phrase guide

damnatio memoriae

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • Received-Pronunciation: /damˌnɑːtɪ.əʊ mɪˈmɔːrɪ.aɪ/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /damˌneɪʃ(ɪ)əʊ mɪˈmɔːrɪ.iː/
  • General-American: /dæmˌnɑti.oʊ məˈmɔri.aɪ/
  • General-American: /dæmˌneɪʃ(i)oʊ məˈmɔri.i/

1

noun

Meaning 1

A posthumous punishment for traitors etc. by which they were effectively erased from history by having their works undone and any mention of their name forbidden.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Ancient-Rome, historical, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: damnation of memory

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from New Latin damnātiō memoriae (literally “condemnation of memory”).

Across languages

Translations

7 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Finnish: damnatio memoriae — type of punishment
  • Finnish: muiston kiroaminen — type of punishment
  • French: damnatio memoriae — type of punishment
  • Italian: damnatio memoriae — type of punishment
  • Korean: 기록말살형 (girongmalsalhyeong) — type of punishment
  • Latin: damnātiō memoriae — type of punishment
  • Portuguese: damnatio memoriae — type of punishment