Stigmatize

verb

verb ·3 syllables ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To characterize as disgraceful or ignominious; to mark with a stigma or stigmata. transitive

    "We stigmatize the Indians, also, as cowardly and treacherous, because they use stratagem in warfare in preference to open force; but in this they are fully justified by their rude code of honor."

  2. 2
    mark with a stigma or stigmata wordnet
  3. 3
    to accuse or condemn or openly or formally or brand as disgraceful wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
advert toallude toattaintbandbarbe taken as

Example

More examples

"And more fundamentally, these laws wrongly stigmatize and marginalize those living with HIV and AIDS."

Etymology

From Medieval Latin stigmatizo (“to brand”), from Ancient Greek στιγματίζω (stigmatízō, “to mark”), from στίγμα (stígma).

Related phrases

re-stigmatize

More for "stigmatize"

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.