Make Your Point: STIGMA

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pronounce STIGMA:

STIG muh

connect this word to others:

In Greek, stigma means "a puncture, a tattoo, or a mark from a sharp instrument." If this stigma reminds you of the word stick, that's for good reason: they both probably trace back to the same very old word, the hypothesized Proto-Indo-European steig.

While we're on the subject of sharp, poky things, see if you can recall these two words:

1. To cover with lots of small scratches or cuts, as if with a sharp pencil or stylus, is to sc_r__y.

2. A handheld tool for drilling a hole is a g___et, which can also mean "sharp, piercing, thoughtful, and critical."

(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)

definition:

The word "stigma" came through Latin from a Greek word, spelled the same, stigma, meaning "a small hole, a tattoo, or a mark made by a sharp tool."

In English, "stigma" first meant "a permanent mark on the skin made by a hot iron, for the purpose of marking the person as a criminal or as someone's property." A stigma could also be a supernatural mark or injury on the skin, said to look like the injuries on the body of Jesus Christ when he was crucified.

Over time, the meaning grew more figurative. Today, a stigma is any mark, sign, or characteristic that sticks with someone or something permanently, making them seem bad, shameful, or unacceptable.

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Noun, most often the countable kind ("There's a stigma attached to felons") and sometimes the uncountable kind ("It's hard to erase stigma").

Other forms:

The plural noun is "stigmas," or if you prefer the fancier Latin one, "stigmata." Hear them here.

The noun for the idea is "stigmatism."

The verb is "stigmatize," as in "They stigmatized her." Its other forms are "stigmatized," "stigmatizing," and "stigmatization."

If you need an adjective, "stigmatized" or "stigmatizing" will probably do, or you can use a rarer, more adjectival-looking one: "stigmal" or "stigmatic."

how to use it:

"Stigma" is a common word that's deeply serious. Pick it when you want to emphasize the cruelty and permanence of some harsh label that society has slapped onto someone or something.

You might say that people or things bear or carry a stigma, or that there's a stigma attached to people or things: "Even when they leave prison, people bear a stigma;" "Online universities still carry a stigma;" "There's a stigma attached to sex workers."

Or, you might talk about the stigma of something: "the stigma of a criminal record," "the stigma of a degree from an online university."

examples:

"Helen believes the shame and stigma surrounding [pelvic organ prolapse] has led to a lack of awareness among women and health professionals - something she's now fighting to change."
— Yasmin Rufo, BBC, 22 October 2025

"For all our earnest recycling, America is still seen as a terribly wasteful country. It's a stigma we've earned and are trying to overcome with our own unique blend of guilt and hypocrisy."
— David Sedaris, Me Talk Pretty One Day, 2000

has this page helped you understand "stigma"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this term, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "stigma" without saying "dark mark" or "sign of a bad reputation."

try it out:

In a product review for tiny, discreet hearing aids, Victoria Song noted:

"A major reason so many people don't use hearing aids is the social stigma attached to wearing one... Only 30 percent of people over 70 who could benefit from hearing aids have used [them]."

Could you explain what she means: what's the stigma attached to hearing aids? Any ideas for getting rid of this stigma, so that people who need help hearing can get it without feeling stigmatized?

And, could you give another example of something that carries a stigma in our society that really shouldn't?

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Summon your creativity and dismiss your sense of decency as you invent a clickbaity description: one that's urgent, exaggerated, ungrammatical, conspiratorial, utterly false, emotionally abrasive, vaguely revelatory, full of feigned shock, and/or bloated with capital letters, question marks, exclamation points, and/or emojis. Get in there and be shameless.

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review this word:

1. A near opposite of STIGMA is

A. BLIGHT (a force that damages, like a disease).
B. CACHET (an indicator of an excellent reputation).
C. DICHOTOMY (a division into two categories).

2. In a hopeful article about the potential of AI in mental healthcare, Francesca Minerva and Alberto Giubilini consider that AI could possibly improve mental healthcare in countries "where stigma around mental illness is very widespread:" that is, countries where people don't seek help for mental illness due to _____.

A. shame
B. poverty
C. political instability

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.

I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.

From my blog:
On vocabulary...
  36 ways to study words.
  Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
  How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
On writing...
How to improve any sentence.
How to motivate our kids to write.
How to stop procrastinating and start writing.
How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count.

From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.

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