verb (used with object), stig·ma·tized, stig·ma·tiz·ing.
- to set some mark of disgrace or infamy upon: The crime of the father stigmatized the whole family.
- to mark with a stigma or brand.
- to produce stigmata, marks, spots, or the like, on.
verb (tr)
- to mark out or describe (as something bad)
- to mark with a stigma or stigmata
v.1580s, “to brand or tattoo,” from Medieval Latin stigmatizare, from Greek stigmatizein, from stigmat- (see stigma). Meaning “to blemish” is from 1610s (figurative), 1630s (literal). Related: Stigmatized; stigmatizing.