indignities
Affronts to dignity
Indignities are acts or circumstances that humiliate or demean a person's dignity.
The word emphasizes the cumulative nature of degrading treatment—not one insult but a series: She endured the indignities of airport security.
Small indignities add up: being ignored, condescended to, made to wait.
The indignities of aging, the indignities of poverty—the plural captures how dignity erodes through repeated small wounds rather than a single blow.
Decline in condition
- abasementState of being lowered
- mortificationIntense shame or embarrassment
- shamePainful awareness of failure
- embarrassmentSelf-conscious unease
dishonor · disgrace · belittlement · debasement · subjugation · dehumanization · objectification · loss of face
Deliberate public insult
- slurInsulting group label
- slightMinor or thin
- tauntInsulting provocation
- mockeryScornful ridicule or travesty
ridicule · disparagement · denigration · snub · put-down · slap in the face · sneer · jeer
Cruel or violent treatment
- violationBreaking of rules
- injusticeDenial of fair treatment
- offenseViolation or umbrage
- maltreatmentCruel or harmful treatment
cruelty · disrespect · discourtesy · ill-treatment · exploitation · oppression · persecution · discrimination
Unjust differential treatment
- prejudicePreformed unfavorable opinion
- racismPrejudice based on ethnicity
- sexismGender-based prejudice
- ageismPrejudice targeting older people
ableism · caste discrimination · segregation · apartheid · Jim Crow · colonialism · internment · disenfranchisement
degradation
Decline in condition
- abasementState of being lowered
- mortificationIntense shame or embarrassment
- shamePainful awareness of failure
embarrassment · dishonor · disgrace · belittlement · debasement · subjugation · dehumanization · objectification · loss of face · ignominy
affront
Deliberate public insult
mockery · ridicule · disparagement · denigration · snub · put-down · slap in the face · sneer · jeer · barb
abuse
Cruel or violent treatment
maltreatment · cruelty · disrespect · discourtesy · ill-treatment · exploitation · oppression · persecution · discrimination · profiling
discrimination
Unjust differential treatment
- prejudicePreformed unfavorable opinion
- racismPrejudice based on ethnicity
- sexismGender-based prejudice
ageism · ableism · caste discrimination · segregation · apartheid · Jim Crow · colonialism · internment · disenfranchisement · othering
- divorce groundsadultery, cruelty, desertion, abandonment, infidelity
- annoyancesannoyance, annoyances, irritations, irritation, nuisance
indignitieshonors
Recognition for achievement
courtesies · dignities · respect · kindnesses · consideration
indignitiestributes
Expressions honoring someone
accolades · distinctions · commendations · recognition · acclaim
dignity, indignant, dignify, indignity, indignation, dignitary, undignified, dignifying, indignations