Antonym of 'stigma'

Question

I am looking for a word that has the opposite, positive connotation from 'stigma':

For example,

There is a stigma of laziness associated with poor people.

What would be the replacement for 'stigma' in this sentence in opposite world:

There is a ??? of industriousness associated with rich people.

Using a thesaurus tends towards cleanliness or lack of blemish. But I'm thinking of 'stigma' not as a blemish, but rather a negative connotation, so that the antonym I'm looking for is not the lack of a blemish but a postive connotation (i.e. that 'stigma' -means- 'negative connotation').

@Sam: Sorry, yes, I was trying to keep as simple as possible, but that makes my example sentences pretty inflammatory. 'Unjustifiable' and 'mythical' are things I would apply to both situations (which actually is my main motivation. I keep sensing in others that rich people have an (I find) extremely unfounded aura of 'betterness' attached to them...um...did I just answer my own question?) — Mitch, Apr 01 '11 at 14:36
How about instead of extremely unfounded which does seem prejudicial, something like, a possibly undeserved aura? — Sam, Apr 01 '11 at 14:41
Notwithstanding the specific example in OP, is it to be generally supposed that a 'stigma' is unjustified? — FumbleFingers, Apr 01 '11 at 16:58
@FumbleFingers: as part of the connotations of the words, no, there is no sense of justified or unjustified at all, just that there is some kind of special psychological ...'thing' about the modified object, such as your adversaries in a game are seen to be 'evil', or when a team loses a game, they feel like they are somehow 'bad'. None of these are necessary at all, just commonly associated. I am calling these stigmas, and I'm looking for a positive version. — Mitch, Apr 01 '11 at 17:23
I agree with the voters (and myself?): 'aura' is the best sounding 'antonym' despite halo being more logically opposite. 'reputation' and 'air' are both good, but you have to add 'good' or 'bad' to complete them (they are neutral in direction). And 'patina' could work in the right context, too. — Mitch, Apr 01 '11 at 18:27

score 24 · Accepted Answer · answered Apr 01 '11 at 14:40

24

Aura might work, as it has a generally positive connotation. There is also halo, though that might be a little over-the-top in this case, or the more neutral property.

answered Apr 01 '11 at 14:40

Kelly Hess

4,984
23
25

'Aura' is the direction I'm looking for...it doesn't pop out as the totally obvious selection to me (yet). – Mitch Apr 01 '11 at 14:45
9

+1 for aura. A similar word would be air: They have an air of industriousness about them. – MrHen Apr 01 '11 at 15:16
Definitely aura, as they both have theological connotations. – Optimal Cynic Jul 05 '11 at 18:16

score 9 · Answer 2 · answered Apr 01 '11 at 15:15

9

Here are a few options:

virtue
principle
reputation
character
acclaim
plaudits

Most of these were gleaned from a thesaurus entry for honor.

answered Apr 01 '11 at 15:15

MrHen

35,747
32
124
264

'virtue' or 'honor' might work. They're not what I expected, but both have easy antonyms with connotations that might work in given context. – Mitch Apr 01 '11 at 15:58
'reputation' might work well both negatively and positively. – Mitch Apr 01 '11 at 17:13

score 4 · Answer 3 · answered Apr 01 '11 at 14:33

4

You might consider the word "patina" as an option.

answered Apr 01 '11 at 14:33

The Raven

12,593

1

or 'veneer' too but those have the extra connotation of covering up, cosmetic appearance, which can be considered slightly negative. I'm looking for something that is just plain positive. – Mitch Apr 01 '11 at 14:39
1

Also consider "air," as in, "She had an air of success about her." Still, "patina" would be my choice as it is almost always used in a positive sense, alluding to qualities burnished over time. – The Raven Apr 01 '11 at 15:37
'air' sounds more neutral but might work for both positive and negative. You're convincing me little by little that 'patina' might work too. Annoyingly, online definitions give hardly any nuance to any of these, even the well-known metaphorical use of 'patina'. – Mitch Apr 01 '11 at 16:02

score 3 · Answer 4 · answered Apr 02 '11 at 13:22

Something along the lines of "mark of distinction", "status symbol", "noble bearing" seems to have the connotations you are asking for, but they don't fit your example sentence.

Do any of these sentences have the connotations you are searching for?

There is a quality of industriousness associated with rich people.
There is a continuing motion of industriousness ...
There is an outpouring of industriousness ...
There is a badge of industriousness ...
There is a mark of industriousness ...
There is a stamp of industriousness ...
There is a distinctive mark of industriousness ...
There is a distinctive stamp of industriousness ...
There is the presence of industriousness ...
There is the attribute of industriousness ...
There is an appearance of industriousness ...
There is an implied subtext of industriousness ...
There is an expectation of industriousness ...
There is an assumption of industriousness ...
There is an abundance of industriousness ...
There is a stereotype of industriousness ...

'mark','stamp':close to the implication of stigma of something preent on the surface.'attribute','subtext','stereotype' in the sense of connotation or associated features. — Mitch, Apr 02 '11 at 13:26

score 3 · Answer 5 · edited Jun 15 '20 at 07:40

3

I suggest "air".

From Thesaurus.com:

Main Entry: air

Part of Speech: noun

Definition: distinctive quality or character; style

edited Jun 15 '20 at 07:40

Community

1

answered Jul 05 '11 at 17:46

snibble

31

score 2 · Answer 6 · answered Jul 05 '11 at 21:19

2

I think "prestige" would be the word, but you would have to re-work the sentence.

A drop-in fit would be "aura" or "halo".

answered Jul 05 '11 at 21:19

Marcin

4,862
22
23

FumbleFingers · Answer 7 · 2011-04-03T03:09:27.330

1

If OP is looking for an antonym that includes some negative connotations, I suggest kudos.

In my experience kudos is often used somewhat disparagingly, with a suggestion that the reputation being refered to may in fact be undeserved or overrated.

In light of subsequent clarification from OP, I suggest hallmark. It can't be used in exactly the same way as some other offerings, and sometimes it's used in reference to undesirable qualities, but "The hallmark of industriousness is associated with rich people" sounds good to me.

edited Apr 03 '11 at 03:09

answered Apr 01 '11 at 17:03

FumbleFingers

140,184
45
294
517

For what ever reason, I've never found 'kudos' to have good 'mouth-feel'. It also has the connotation of the action of congratulations (what's the opposite of that?), whereas 'stigma' is just a static thing. – Mitch Apr 01 '11 at 18:25
If we can discard the requirement that our two words should have either positive or negative connotations, I'd go for stamp as being pretty neutral in either example. – FumbleFingers Apr 01 '11 at 23:57
kudos isn't quite the right part of speech, though. Or something. Anyway, it doesn't work in "There is a ??? of industriousness associated with rich people." – Marthaª Apr 02 '11 at 00:11
@Martha: I agree There is a kudos of industiousness associated with rich people sounds a bit 'iffy'. But The kudos of industriousness is associated... seems perfectly unremarkable to me. – FumbleFingers Apr 02 '11 at 23:26

score 1 · Answer 8 · answered Apr 30 '12 at 17:55

1

honor/respect/pride/aura/halo/appreciation

answered Apr 30 '12 at 17:55

Sphynx

11

score 0 · Answer 9 · answered Apr 01 '11 at 20:35

0

the glow of x? The patina of y? Luminousity of z?

answered Apr 01 '11 at 20:35

immutabl

3,119

Antonym of 'stigma'

9 Answers9

Linked

Related