dignity
Americannoun
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dignities
plural
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bearing, conduct, or speech indicative of self-respect or appreciation of the formality or gravity of an occasion or situation.
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nobility or elevation of character; worthiness.
dignity of sentiments.
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elevated rank, office, station, etc.
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relative standing; rank.
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a sign or token of respect.
an impertinent question unworthy of the dignity of an answer.
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Archaic.
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person of high rank or title.
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such persons collectively.
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noun
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a formal, stately, or grave bearing
he entered with dignity
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the state or quality of being worthy of honour
the dignity of manual labour
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relative importance; rank
he is next in dignity to the mayor
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sense of self-importance (often in the phrases stand (or be ) on one's dignity, beneath one's dignity )
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high rank, esp in government or the church
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a person of high rank or such persons collectively
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of dignity
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English dignite, from Anglo-French, Old French, from Latin dignitās “worthiness,” from dign(us) “worthy” + -itās -ity
Explanation
If someone has dignity, it means they are worthy of respect. If you really want the lead role in a play and you try to bribe the director to give it to you, she might say, “Have you no dignity?” Someone with dignity carries herself well. If you lose an election, and you say nasty things about your opponent and try to undermine her, you are acting without dignity. But if you graciously congratulate her and accept the results, then you are behaving in a dignified manner. We also talk about human dignity, which is an idea of what separates humans from animals. Human Rights activists believe that everyone has the right to live with dignity.
Vocabulary lists containing dignity
Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" Speech (1963)
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"Diary of a Wimpy Kid" by Jeff Kinney
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Declaration of the Rights of Woman (1791)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
In the show-business world in which this film is set—a world that often pays a premium for giving up one’s dignity, integrity, self-respect—the phrase has the quality of a necessary mantra.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
They also thought about video monitoring in his dad’s apartment when he insisted on living alone, but that was a bridge too far for all of them as far as dignity and privacy were concerned.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026
Concerns have been raised about privacy, dignity and whether the technology could be used as a substitute for face-to-face care.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
It states that people are more likely to experience institutions as legitimate when they believe they have been heard, treated with dignity, and given meaningful information about the process.
From Slate ● Oct. 2, 2026
Despite the wild ride, he managed to leave town with a great degree of dignity, holding his head high and his back stiff as he pushed the bike along the path.
From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson
Yet in interviews, I constantly heard patient complaints about psychiatric facilities that denied even the smallest dignities, like choosing what movie to watch or eating a bag of chips.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2023
FIFA, soccer’s global governing body, had numerous chances to take a stand for basic human dignities.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 17, 2022
“We continue to feel our lives are at risk and our patient’s rights and dignities are ignored,” Osborne wrote in the letter to the Department of Health.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 28, 2020
But Smarsh’s story demonstrates an urgent truth of today’s unforgiving economy, that a college degree no longer unlocks the gates to the dignities of the middle class as it once did.
From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2017
But happening to look up at Mrs. Pocket as she sat reading her book of dignities after prescribing Bed as a sovereign remedy for baby, I thought—Well—No, I wouldn’t.
From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
