Definition of ignoblenext
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Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective ignoble differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of ignoble are abject, mean, and sordid. While all these words mean "being below the normal standards of human decency and dignity," ignoble suggests a loss or lack of some essential high quality of mind or spirit.

an ignoble scramble after material possessions

When would abject be a good substitute for ignoble?

In some situations, the words abject and ignoble are roughly equivalent. However, abject may imply degradation, debasement, or servility.

abject poverty

When could mean be used to replace ignoble?

The words mean and ignoble are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, mean suggests small-mindedness, ill temper, or cupidity.

mean and petty satire

When can sordid be used instead of ignoble?

The meanings of sordid and ignoble largely overlap; however, sordid is stronger than all of these in stressing physical or spiritual degradation and abjectness.

a sordid story of murder and revenge

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of ignoble The Jets recently saw their local deliveries plummet to an ignoble 4.5 rating, which translates to a meager 350,530 Gang Green households tuning in to WBCS-2. Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 10 Oct. 2025 This is an ignoble plan that cites dubious science while elevating the entertainment of a handful of hunters over the revulsion of most Floridians. Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 July 2025 My focus is down to the ignoble little health annoyances that seem to cap and even eclipse a major setback. John Updike, New Yorker, 11 July 2025 The janky but oddly addictive Friday the 13th: The Game goes offline for good at the end of the year — an ignoble but perhaps inevitable fate for an interactive slasher that’s been plagued by problems since its rocky launch in 2017. A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 13 Sep. 2024 See All Example Sentences for ignoble
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ignoble
Adjective
  • The group, originally signed to RCA Records, released two albums of bustling synth pop and opened for Harry Styles in the late twenty-tens but was cast off in the early days of the pandemic owing to low sales.
    Dan Stahl, New Yorker, 1 May 2026
  • Senators Chris Murphy and Ruben Gallego have spoken publicly about wanting to pursue this, and Bedoya notes that there’s precedent for this action, citing Democrats’ recent introduction of a bill to break up the meatpacking industry to create lower prices for consumers.
    Hershal Pandya, Vulture, 30 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • The bleak tortures Ohm concocts for his characters are as vile as the Bilberry’s fetid jacuzzi.
    Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 30 Apr. 2026
  • There’s something vile, yet attractive about the film, an encapsulation of the fact that people and the internet are downright weird.
    Richard Newby, HollywoodReporter, 27 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • This one is about a regular old guy, a hedge knight in the plebeian population of Westeros, just trying to get by in a world that isn't kind to the common and poor.
    Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 13 Jan. 2026
  • Below that sits the pedestrian CLK 500 and plebeian CLK 350.
    Jeremy Korzeniewski, Robb Report, 26 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • The drinks attract younger women, typically age 16 to 35, and are aimed at health-conscious customers that don’t want Swig’s more caloric and filling dirty sodas, CEO Alex Dunn said.
    Jordan Valinsky, CNN Money, 28 Apr. 2026
  • That wasn’t the only utensil stored in a dirty place.
    David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 28 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • Stribing was equal parts humble, low key and polite — not at all in keeping with the image of a diva wide receiver.
    Jerry McDonald, Mercury News, 25 Apr. 2026
  • Purple, pink, and red are more exciting, but a humble green offers an escape from what sometimes seems like excitement that never ends.
    Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 25 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • During the Braves’ recent trip to Philadelphia, Kyle Farmer came down with a nasty illness possibly brought on by norovirus.
    Chad Bishop, AJC.com, 1 May 2026
  • Mfume has not joined in the negative attack game, but Conway, like other failing candidates, has decided his only political pathway is simply to run a nasty and divisive campaign.
    Bobby Zirkin, Baltimore Sun, 30 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • The word was considered so vulgar that it was left out of early dictionaries and was rarely printed, though Adams says people were certainly using it.
    Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 8 Apr. 2026
  • One day, Dahlstrom made a vulgar joke in a lunchroom referencing oral sex and pubic hair, according to the employee.
    Nick Ferraro, Twin Cities, 4 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • Pope Francis changed the church’s social teaching to declare capital punishment immoral in all cases.
    Nicole Winfield, Fortune, 23 Apr. 2026
  • For him, in becoming photosynthetic, civilized beings would only gain in hallmarks of intelligence, like autonomy and compassion, given that a species living off starlight converts energy to work without the messy, immoral mediation of a food chain.
    Big Think, Big Think, 22 Apr. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Ignoble.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ignoble. Accessed 2 May. 2026.

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