inglorious (2009-04-12)

Part of Speech: adjective

Pronunciation: [in-'glo-ri-yês]

Definition: Lacking in glory or pride hence shameful or dishonorable.

Usage: It may be used literally, as in "an inglorious battle in British history"; however, it may be used metaphorically in interesting ways to refer to any event you might wish to erase from memory, e.g. "a rather inglorious moment in the company's history." It belongs to elevated style, so you wouldn't want to refer to "the inglorious negotiations over who pays the tab", though, at a high-stakes business dinner, it might crack a reluctant smile or two.

Suggested Usage: The word is not used as widely as its positive counterpart, glorious, which explains why its meaning has strayed slightly off course.

Etymology: From Latin negative prefix in- "not" plus gloria "glory".