ignoble

[ig-noh-buhl]

adjective

1. of low character, aims, etc.; mean; base.

   his ignoble purposes.

   Synonyms: contemptible, ignominious, dishonorable, degraded
   Antonyms: honorable

2. of low grade or quality; inferior.

   Antonyms: superior

3. not noble; of humble descent or rank.

   Synonyms: peasant, plebeian, obscure, lowly

4. Falconry.,  noting any hawk with short wings that chases or rakes after the quarry.

ignoble

/ ɪɡˈnəʊbəl /

adjective

1. dishonourable; base; despicable

2. of low birth or origins; humble; common

3. of low quality; inferior

4. falconry

   1. designating short-winged hawks that capture their quarry by swiftness and adroitness of flight Compare noble

   2. designating quarry which is inferior or unworthy of pursuit by a particular species of hawk or falcon

Other Word Forms

• ignobility noun
• ignobleness noun
• ignobly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of ignoble¹

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin ignōbilis unknown, inglorious, equivalent to in- in- ³ + OL gnōbilis ( Latin nōbilis ) noble

Word History and Origins

Origin of ignoble¹

C16: from Latin ignōbilis, from _in- ¹ + Old Latin gnōbilis _noble

Example Sentences

“It has these very ignoble beginnings,” said Mark P. Nevitt, a law professor at Emory University and one of the country’s foremost experts on the statute.

From Los Angeles Times

Ernst's implication that people should welcome suffering and death has a long and ignoble history.

From Salon

Until the events of “Through the Valley,” the second “The Last of Us” episode of Season 2, the Stark paterfamilias' ignoble demise was the most agonizing turn of all.

From Salon

Former President Trump’s conviction on 34 criminal counts of falsifying business records in New York is an ignoble first.

From Los Angeles Times

Simple, ignoble, under-appreciated green cabbage: It has got to be one of the most unpretentious and humblest in all of the Cruciferae family, if not among the entire vegetable kingdom.

From Salon