French Conversation · Level 157
30 words
French word
stigmate
Pronunciation
IPA/stigmat/
Meaning
- masculine nounstigma
Example
Il a gardé un stigmate aux yeux du public.
He still bears a stigma in the eyes of the public.
More examples
Son passé judiciaire lui vaut encore un stigmate au travail.
His criminal record still leaves him with a stigma at work.
Core concept
A hard-to-remove label of disgrace attached to a person or group.
Common phrases
un stigmate social
a social stigma
porter un stigmate
bear a stigma
Similar words
mauvaise réputation: A poor reputation shared by many people and damaging someone's standing.
réputation: The overall evaluation or image that people have of a person or organization.
discrédit: A loss of credibility or esteem that causes others to stop trusting someone.
Definition in French
Désigne une marque sociale négative attachée à une personne ou à un groupe, provoquant mépris ou exclusion.
Word origin
French stigmate comes from Greek stigma, meaning a mark or scar, through Latin stigma, and shifted from a physical brand to a socially damaging mark.
Usage tips
- Stigmate is masculine, so it takes le or un, and its register is relatively formal.
Other meanings
- brandnoun
- marknoun
Related words
- stigmatisationstigmatizationnoun
- stigmatiserstigmatizeverb
- stigmatiséstigmatizedadjective