Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Humiliating, degrading, or abusive treatment.
- noun A source of offense, as to a person's pride or sense of dignity; an affront.
- noun Obsolete Lack of dignity or honor.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Unworthiness; shamefulness; base character or conduct.
- noun Contemptuous conduct unjustly directed toward another; any action designed to lower the dignity of another; injury accompanied with insult.
- noun Synonyms Insult, Indignity, etc. (see
affront ); contumely, slight, disrespect, dishonor.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun Any action toward another which manifests contempt for him; an offense against personal dignity; unmerited contemptuous treatment; contumely; incivility or injury, accompanied with insult.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun
degradation ,debasement orhumiliation - noun an
affront to one'sdignity orpride
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun an affront to one's dignity or self-esteem
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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On Wednesday, protests broke out in the central Italian city of Bologna, where hundreds of young Italians clashed with police over what they described as the "indignity" of financial institutions that they said had put the burden of Italy's debts on younger generations.
Italian Leader's Grip on Power Cast Into Doubt Christopher Emsden 2011
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For Obama, the ultimate indignity is the Times/CBS News poll in September showing that only 8 percent of Americans know that he gave 95 percent of American taxpayers a tax cut.
Frank Rich: Obama Is The Rodney Dangerfield Of 2010 The Huffington Post News Team 2010
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For Obama, the ultimate indignity is the Times/CBS News poll in September showing that only 8 percent of Americans know that he gave 95 percent of American taxpayers a tax cut.
Frank Rich: Obama Is The Rodney Dangerfield Of 2010 The Huffington Post News Team 2010
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But the latest indignity is that she's completely excised any trace of Eddie Van Halen from Beat It, and for what.
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The final indignity is that, although other DjVu readers provide for text selection, The New Yorker has removed that feature from its DjVu reader.
Boing Boing: February 26, 2006 - March 4, 2006 Archives 2006
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To put upon her an indignity is an unpardonable offense.
The Promised Land 1912
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Roman, and what indignity is done to him will be construed an offence against the majesty of the Roman people, as they loved to speak.
Commentary on the Whole Bible Volume VI (Acts to Revelation) 1721
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The use of the word indignity to describe the racism of a colorblind age is a carefully chosen and measured one.
AlterNet.org Main RSS Feed Christopher Deis, AlterNet 2009
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He recalls the indignity of the examination by Dr. Crany: “His filthy fingers sprawling over my head for such a villaneous purpose: it is abominable” (2.4.696).
Feminist Utopianism and Female Sexuality in Joanna Baillies Comedies 2008
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I suppose because their indignity is a reminder of a still greater loss of dignity in myself.
The Scandal of the Season Sophie Gee 2007
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