stigma

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable or uncountable

   A strong feeling in society that something or someone is shameful or unacceptable.

   Grammar: Often singular and followed by of or attached to: the stigma of unemployment.

   Patterns

   • stigma of something
   • stigma attached to something
   • stigma against someone

   There is still a stigma attached to mental illness.

   He tried to remove the stigma of failure.

   Campaigns aim to end the stigma around addiction.

2. 2nouncountablebiologytechnical

   The part of a flower's female organ that receives pollen.

   Grammar: Botanical term; plural stigmas or stigmata.

   Pollen lands on the stigma at the top of the pistil.

   The bee brushed against the sticky stigma.

3. 3nouncountablemedical

   A mark on the skin that suggests a disease or a condition.

   Grammar: Medical term in the plural form stigmata often.

   Doctors noted physical stigmata of the disease.

Word forms

Common combinations

social stigma

There is a social stigma around the topic.

remove the stigma

Education helps remove the stigma.

carry a stigma

Former prisoners may carry a stigma.

stigma attached to

The stigma attached to debt is declining.

break the stigma

Celebrities helped break the stigma.

Synonyms and how they differ

shame

Shame is a feeling a person has; stigma is the disapproval society places on a trait or situation.

taint

Taint suggests a lingering spoiled reputation.

disgrace

Disgrace follows a wrongful act; stigma can attach to something that is not anyone's fault.

Opposites

Word family

stigmatize verb

to treat as shameful

stigmatization noun

the act of stigmatizing

stigmatized adjective

seen as shameful

Commonly confused: stigma or stagma?

Practice

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