Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
ignobility

ignobility

9.7
A state of being shameful and without honor
  • noun
  • /ɪɡˈnoʊbɪlɪti/
  • Archaic
translation icon : ignominia
  • I would tell him that I wasn't going to be like him anymore, that I was going to change for the good, and he would be alone in his ignobility.

Examples

  • She couldn't help but feel contempt for the ignobility displayed during the meeting.

  • The dignity and sanctity of the bodies of the dead are violated through the graphic description of their variably maimed states, which further affirms the utter ignobility of their deaths.

    Academic text (1997)

  • No ignobility, but only enlightenment, attends our reduction to appropriate size.

    Academic text (1995)

  • I worried I might be homosexual, though I'd experienced no desire for male flesh at Woodberry Forest when some of that ignobility made the rounds.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • His decision to cheat on the exam was a clear sign of his ignobility.

  • The scandal revealed the ignobility of his actions, tarnishing his reputation.

Synonyms

ignobleness
vsignobility
9.9

A lack of honor and low moral character

has identical meaning but uses a different noun form
ignominiousness
vsignobility
  • Formal
9.9

A state of public shame that makes people lose respect

focuses on private baseness rather than public disgrace

Antonyms

honor
  • US
∞ 2.2

Respect given to a person for good moral behavior

nobility
  • Formal
16 5.0

Being morally good and acting with kindness and honor

How Noble

nobility
  • Formal
16 5.0
honor
  • US
∞ 2.2
decency
155 3.0
ignobility
  • Archaic
9.7
dishonor
  • US
35 5.1

Surface Forms

ignobility singular
ignobilities plural

Morphology

ignobility = ignoble (transparent) = ignoble + ity

Formation is a regular nominalization of the adjective 'ignoble' with the productive suffix '-ity', so the meaning is directly derived.

Etymology

The word ignobility comes from the parts in- 'not' and noble 'high or respected'. So ignobility is the state of being 'not noble', that is, being low, shameful, or dishonorable.