DictionaryAI

ignoble

Sayig-NOH-buhlUS/ɪɡˈnoʊbəl/UK/ɪɡˈnəʊbəl/

Formsignobler, ignoblest

4 meanings of ignoble

Practice

  1. 1
    shamefuladjective
    Lacking honor; morally low or contemptible.

    Investigators suspected ignoble motives behind the sudden donation.

    The senator's ignoble attempt to blame his own staff fooled no one.

    Similardishonorable, base, shameful, contemptible, despicable

    Oppositenoble, honorable, worthy, admirable

    Note

    Here the lack of nobility is moral, and its natural partner is base: Shakespeare's Henry VI, Part 2 speaks of "a base ignoble mind / That mounts no higher than a bird can soar." Thomas Gray's Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard (1751) sets it in the phrase "far from the madding crowd's ignoble strife", where it means petty and unworthy rather than lowborn.

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 5 facts

    • William Shakespeare's Henry VI, Part 2 contains the quoted lines, spoken by Gloucester in Act II, scene I. gutenberg.org
    • Thomas Gray wrote Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard. en.wikipedia.org
    • The poem was first published in 1751, as confirmed by the reproduced first-edition title page. gutenberg.org
    • The poem contains the quoted phrase. gutenberg.org
    • Gray's quotation illustrates the moral sense of ignoble rather than the sense referring to birth. en.wiktionary.org
  2. 2
    low birthadjective
    Of common birth or rank; not belonging to the nobility.

    Despite his ignoble birth, he rose to command the king's army.

    The old families at court looked down on her ignoble origins.

    UsageMostly in ignoble birth or ignoble origins; since it can sound like a moral insult, make clear that rank is meant.

    Similarhumble, lowly, common, plebeian, lowborn

    Oppositenoble, aristocratic, highborn

    Note

    The Latin parts spell this sense out: in- "not" plus nobilis "noble", so the word sorts people by birth or rank, not by conduct. Shakespeare uses it this way in Henry VI, Part 3: "I was not ignoble of descent."

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • The Latin derivation combines the negative prefix in- with gnobilis, later nobilis, meaning noble. en.wiktionary.org
    • In this sense, ignoble refers to common birth or rank. en.wiktionary.org
    • Shakespeare's Henry VI, Part 3 contains the quoted words, spoken by Queen Elizabeth in Act IV, scene I about her descent. gutenberg.org

Less common meanings

  1. 3
    verbobsolete
    To make someone or something ignoble; to bring low.
  2. 4
    adjective
    Of certain hawks, such as the goshawk: not ranked as a true or "noble" falcon.

Practice

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Origin

Latin ignōbilis joined in- ("not") to gnōbilis, the earlier form of nōbilis ("noble"). Middle French turned it into ignoble, and English borrowed the word from there.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

  • Latin ignōbilis combines in- meaning “not” with gnōbilis, the earlier form of nōbilis meaning “noble”. en.wiktionary.org
  • Middle French ignoble came from Latin ignōbilis, and English borrowed it from Middle French. en.wiktionary.org