ignoble

/ɪgˈnoʊbəl/

Other forms: ignobler; ignoblest

Ignoble means not noble, but for those of us that don’t live in feudal England and don’t worry about lords or peasants, ignoble just means base, or low, like that dude in Biology who’s always telling fart jokes.

Ignoble means low, common, or humble, but we tend to use it to describe the lows of human nature, rather than economically humble people or places. So a picturesquely crumbing rustic cottage or a cool old diner is not ignoble, but perhaps a sketchy roadside bar is. Those that think that the human mind is the treasure of the world disdain ignoble animals like pigs or dogs––after all, they can’t compose lovely poems like we can.

Definitions of ignoble

1. adjective

   completely lacking nobility in character or quality or purpose
   “something cowardly and ignoble in his attitude”

   “"I think it a less evil that some criminals should escape than that the government should play an ignoble part"- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.”

   synonyms:

   cowardly, fearful

   lacking courage; ignobly timid and faint-hearted

   contemptible, misbegotten

   deserving of contempt or scorn

   dishonorable, dishonourable

   lacking honor or integrity; deserving dishonor

   base, mean, meanspirited

   having or showing an ignoble lack of honor or morality

   currish

   base and cowardly

   antonyms:

   noble

   having or showing or indicative of high or elevated character

   honorable, honourable

   worthy of being honored; entitled to honor and respect

   dignifying, ennobling

   investing with dignity or honor

   elevated, exalted, grand, high-flown, high-minded, idealistic, lofty, noble-minded, rarefied, rarified, sublime

   of high moral or intellectual value; elevated in nature or style

   greathearted, magnanimous

   noble and generous in spirit
2. adjective

   not of the nobility
   “of ignoble (or ungentle) birth”

   synonyms: ungentle, untitled

   lowborn

   of humble birth or origins