Meaning & use
a stigma
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Meanings
nouncountable or uncountable
Strong feelings of disapproval that most people in a society have toward a person or group because of a particular characteristic or condition.
Grammar: Often used with the definite article: the stigma of mental illness. Can be countable (a stigma) or uncountable (stigma attached to something).
Patterns
- stigma attached to something
- the stigma of something
- stigma around something
- to carry a stigma
There is still a stigma attached to talking openly about depression.
She felt the stigma of being the only person in her family who had not gone to university.
The campaign aims to reduce the stigma around HIV testing.
nouncountableformal
A mark or sign of shame or disgrace; something that damages a person's reputation.
Grammar: Usually used in the phrase 'a stigma on someone or something'.
Patterns
- a stigma on someone
- a stigma on something
The failure of the project left a stigma on his career.
In some cultures, divorce is seen as a stigma on the whole family.
Word forms
| plural | stigmas |
|---|
Common combinations
- social stigma
- There is a strong social stigma against people who don't finish high school.
- stigma attached to something
- The stigma attached to mental health problems is slowly disappearing.
- reduce the stigma
- Schools can help reduce the stigma around learning disabilities.
- carry a stigma
- In many places, being unemployed still carries a stigma.
Synonyms and how they differ
- shame
- Shame is a feeling you have about yourself; stigma is the disapproval that others place on you.
- disgrace
- Disgrace is a stronger, more formal word for loss of respect; stigma is often a social label that sticks to a group.
- mark
- Mark can mean a sign of something bad, but it is less specific than stigma about social disapproval.
Opposites
Word family
- stigmatize verb
- To treat someone unfairly because of a characteristic they have.
- stigmatization noun
- The act or process of treating people as shameful or unacceptable.
- stigmatized adjective
- Describing a person or group that suffers from social disapproval.
Commonly confused: a stigma or astigmatism? a stigma or stigma (flower part)?
a stigma vs astigmatism
Astigmatism is a common eye condition that makes vision blurry. It sounds similar to 'a stigma' but is a medical term.
a stigma vs stigma (flower part)
In biology, stigma also means the part of a flower that receives pollen. This is a specialist use; the social meaning is far more common.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'stigma' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Option 0 uses 'stigma' in the common social sense with the preposition 'around'. Option 1 confuses it with 'sting' or 'pain'. Option 2 uses the botanical sense, which is possible but not the everyday meaning. Option 3 invents a verb form that does not exist.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “a stigma”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.