ignominy ˈig-nə-ˌmi-nē , -mə-nē and ig-ˈnä-mə-nē noun
: a state of dishonor
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The word ignominy has appeared in 16 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on Sept. 2 in “U.S.C. and the Art of Skating on Thin Ice” by Billy Witz:
When Velus Jones returned the opening kickoff 64 yards, it was nullified by a walking-into-a-lamppost-like penalty: The Trojans had two players wearing No. 7 on the field at the same time. By the end of the night, U.S.C. had committed four turnovers and made a number of dubious coaching decisions, but it was spared the ignominy of blowing an 18-point, second-half lead when safety Isaiah Pola-Mao pulled down a brilliant interception in the end zone with less than two minutes left.
