Standard Lemma guide

ignominious

adj · 3 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

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˌɪɡ.nə(ʊ)ˈmɪ.ni.əs/
  • General-American: /ɪɡ.nəˈmɪ.ni.əs/
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɪniəs
  • CMU ARPABET: IH2 G N AH0 M IH1 N IY0 AH0 S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Especially of a person: deserving of disgrace or dishonour; contemptible, despicable.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: abject, filthy, base, beggarly, blameworthy, carrion, cheap, choical, contemptible, cringing, damnable, dedecorous, degraded, deplorable, deridable, derisible, despicable, despisable, dirty, discreditable, disdainable, disgraceful, dishonorable, disreputable, execrable, groveling, hylic, hylical, ignoble, ignominious, inglorious, lame, laughable, loathsome, lousy, low, ludicrous, mean, mean-spirited, miserable, obscene, outrageous, paltry, pathetic, pissass, pitiable, pitiful, plebeian, punk, putrid, reprehensible, reprehensive, reptile, reptilian, reptitious, ridiculous, risible, roynish, scabbed, scald, scornworthy, scummy, scurvy, shabby, shameful, shit, sleazy, slavish, slimy, sordid, sorry, trashy, ugly, uncommendable, uncool, unmentionable, unwashed, unsophisticated, unworthy, vile, vulgar, weak, worthless, wretched

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Causing or marked by disgrace or dishonour; disgraceful, dishonourable; also (loosely), humiliating, shameful.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Qualifier: generally

Examples

  • The time when the pseudovirtuous men and women die a painful and ignominious death has yet to come.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: abject, filthy, base, beggarly, blameworthy, carrion, cheap, choical, contemptible, cringing, damnable, dedecorous, degraded, deplorable, deridable, derisible, despicable, despisable, dirty, discreditable, disdainable, disgraceful, dishonorable, disreputable, execrable, groveling, hylic, hylical, ignoble, ignominious, inglorious, lame, laughable, loathsome, lousy, low, ludicrous, mean, mean-spirited, miserable, obscene, outrageous, paltry, pathetic, pissass, pitiable, pitiful, plebeian, punk, putrid, reprehensible, reprehensive, reptile, reptilian, reptitious, ridiculous, risible, roynish, scabbed, scald, scornworthy, scummy, scurvy, shabby, shameful, shit, sleazy, slavish, slimy, sordid, sorry, trashy, ugly, uncommendable, uncool, unmentionable, unwashed, unsophisticated, unworthy, vile, vulgar, weak, worthless, wretched

Antonyms: none provided

3

adjective satellite

Meaning 3

(used of conduct or character) deserving or bringing disgrace or shame- Rachel Carson

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • Man...has written one of his blackest records as a destroyer on the oceanic islands
  • an ignominious retreat
  • inglorious defeat
  • an opprobrious monument to human greed
  • a shameful display of cowardice

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: black, disgraceful, inglorious, opprobrious, shameful

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

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).

Across languages

Translations

34 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: позорен (pozoren) — causing or marked by disgrace or dishonour — see also disgraceful, dishonourable
  • Bulgarian: долен (dolen) — causing or marked by disgrace or dishonour — see also disgraceful, dishonourable
  • Catalan: ignominiós — causing or marked by disgrace or dishonour — see also disgraceful, dishonourable
  • Czech: potupný — causing or marked by disgrace or dishonour — see also disgraceful, dishonourable
  • Czech: ostudný — causing or marked by disgrace or dishonour — see also disgraceful, dishonourable
  • Czech: ponižující — causing or marked by disgrace or dishonour — see also disgraceful, dishonourable
  • Czech: hanebný — causing or marked by disgrace or dishonour — see also disgraceful, dishonourable
  • Dutch: oneervol — causing or marked by disgrace or dishonour — see also disgraceful, dishonourable
  • Finnish: häpeällinen — causing or marked by disgrace or dishonour — see also disgraceful, dishonourable
  • French: ignominieux — causing or marked by disgrace or dishonour — see also disgraceful, dishonourable
  • Friulian: ignominiôs — causing or marked by disgrace or dishonour — see also disgraceful, dishonourable
  • Galician: ignominioso — causing or marked by disgrace or dishonour — see also disgraceful, dishonourable
  • German: schändlich — causing or marked by disgrace or dishonour — see also disgraceful, dishonourable
  • German: schmählich — causing or marked by disgrace or dishonour — see also disgraceful, dishonourable
  • German: schmachvoll — causing or marked by disgrace or dishonour — see also disgraceful, dishonourable
  • German: schimpflich — causing or marked by disgrace or dishonour — see also disgraceful, dishonourable
  • Ancient Greek: ἄδοξος (ádoxos) — causing or marked by disgrace or dishonour — see also disgraceful, dishonourable
  • Hebrew: מַחְפִּיר (makhpír) — causing or marked by disgrace or dishonour — see also disgraceful, dishonourable
  • Italian: ignominioso — causing or marked by disgrace or dishonour — see also disgraceful, dishonourable
  • Latin: ignōminiōsus — causing or marked by disgrace or dishonour — see also disgraceful, dishonourable
  • Polish: haniebny — causing or marked by disgrace or dishonour — see also disgraceful, dishonourable
  • Polish: niegodziwy — causing or marked by disgrace or dishonour — see also disgraceful, dishonourable
  • Polish: sromotny — causing or marked by disgrace or dishonour — see also disgraceful, dishonourable
  • Polish: podły — causing or marked by disgrace or dishonour — see also disgraceful, dishonourable
  • Portuguese: ignominioso — causing or marked by disgrace or dishonour — see also disgraceful, dishonourable
  • Russian: позо́рный (pozórnyj) — causing or marked by disgrace or dishonour — see also disgraceful, dishonourable
  • Russian: бессла́вный (besslávnyj) — causing or marked by disgrace or dishonour — see also disgraceful, dishonourable
  • Spanish: ignominioso — causing or marked by disgrace or dishonour — see also disgraceful, dishonourable
  • Swedish: vanhedrande — causing or marked by disgrace or dishonour — see also disgraceful, dishonourable
  • Swedish: skymflig — causing or marked by disgrace or dishonour — see also disgraceful, dishonourable
  • Swedish: neslig — causing or marked by disgrace or dishonour — see also disgraceful, dishonourable
  • Swedish: skamlig — causing or marked by disgrace or dishonour — see also disgraceful, dishonourable
  • Turkish: yüz kızartıcı — causing or marked by disgrace or dishonour — see also disgraceful, dishonourable
  • Ottoman Turkish: رذیل (rezil) — causing or marked by disgrace or dishonour — see also disgraceful, dishonourable