Definition

1. Noun:
   • A mark of disgrace or shame: A strong feeling of public disapproval or social rejection associated with a particular circumstance, quality, or person.
   • A visible sign or characteristic of a disease: (Medical) A distinguishing mark or symptom indicative of a specific disease.
   • The part of a pistil that receives pollen: (Botany) The apical, often sticky or feathery, end of the style in a flower's pistil, which receives pollen grains during pollination.
   • A small mark, spot, or pore: (Biology/Zoology) A mark or small opening, such as a spiracle (breathing pore) in insects or arthropods.

Examples of Usage

• Noun (Social/Cultural):
  • There is still a significant stigma attached to mental illness in many societies.
  • He felt the stigma of being unemployed for so long.
• Noun (Medical/Biological):
  • The physician identified the skin lesions as a stigma of the disease.
  • Butterflies breathe through openings called stigmata.
• Noun (Botanical):
  • The pollen grain landed on the stigma of the flower.

Advanced Usage

• "To bear/carry a stigma": To be marked by or associated with disgrace.
  • The family bore the stigma of the scandal for decades.
• "The stigma of...": Used to specify the source of the disgrace.
  • She worked to overcome the stigma of her past failures.

Variants and Related Words

• Stigmatic (adj): Relating to or marked with a stigma.
  • The study focused on the stigmatic effects of poverty.
• Stigmatize (verb): To describe or regard as worthy of disgrace or great disapproval.
  • Laws should not stigmatize people with disabilities.
• Stigmata (noun, plural): Marks, sores, or sensations of pain corresponding to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ, sometimes reported in religious contexts. (Note: This is a specialized, often religious, use of the plural form).

Synonyms

• Disgrace: Loss of reputation or respect.
• Shame: A painful feeling of humiliation or distress.
• Taint: A trace of a bad or undesirable quality.
• Blemish: A small mark or flaw which spoils the appearance.

Related Phrases

• Social stigma: The extreme disapproval of (or discontent with) a person or group on socially characteristic grounds.
  • Campaigns aim to reduce the social stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS.
• Stigma management: The process of concealing or managing information about a stigmatizing attribute.
  • He practiced stigma management by carefully controlling what his colleagues knew about his health.

Related Idioms

• "A stigma is attached to...": This phrase emphasizes that something is widely seen as shameful.
  • A stigma is still attached to seeking help for addiction in some communities.

Noun

1. a skin lesion that is a diagnostic sign of some disease
2. an external tracheal aperture in a terrestrial arthropod
3. a symbol of disgrace or infamy
   • And the Lord set a mark upon Cain--Genesis
4. the apical end of the style where deposited pollen enters the pistil