dignify
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to confer honor or dignity upon; honor; ennoble.
-
to give a high-sounding title or name to; confer unmerited distinction upon.
to dignify pedantry by calling it scholarship.
verb
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to invest with honour or dignity; ennoble
-
to add distinction to
the meeting was dignified by the minister
-
to add a semblance of dignity to, esp by the use of a pretentious name or title
she dignifies every plant with its Latin name
Other Word Forms
- overdignify verb (used with object)
- quasi-dignifying adjective
Etymology
Origin of dignify
1375–1425; late Middle English dignifien < Old French dignefier < Medieval Latin dignificāre, equivalent to Latin dign ( us ) worthy + -ificāre -ify
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.
Wet ground conditions across the crematorium mean ashes could not be scattered, because they "may not settle naturally or in a dignified way".
From BBC
There’s the lab-coated museum curator who treats statues in underground storage as dignified friends worth revisiting.
From Los Angeles Times
They concurred that the quip about “G. I. Jane,” in reference to Ms. Pinkett-Smith’s very dignified and public experiences with alopecia, was triggering and unfit for the Oscars.
From Salon
US Vice President JD Vance on Monday attended the dignified transfer ceremony for the seventh soldier killed in the Middle East war.
From Barron's
The latest example came Saturday at one of the most solemn moments a commander-in-chief can face: a dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base.
From Salon
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.
