dignitary
Americannoun
-
dignitaries
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of dignitary
Explanation
A dignitary is a very important person (VIP), usually from another country. Major dignitaries from other countries might get to meet the President when they visit the U.S. If you see the word dignity in dignitary, it gives you a clue to its meaning. When we treat people with dignity, we're treating them with respect. Dignitaries get a lot of respect, because they're important and powerful people in their country — heads of state, ambassadors, and royalty are all dignitaries. It's not easy to become a dignitary: you'd better either be born into the right family or become a powerful person in some other way.
Vocabulary lists containing dignitary
Unit 1: Telling Details
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Unit 1: Telling Details
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"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce
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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:
He offers Gruel a lazy thumbs-up, accepts the chef’s joke about cooking for a dignitary and immediately turns to the camera to recite the show’s mission statement.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026
Zach Witkoff also met Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in April of last year, during a visit where he was feted like a visiting dignitary, with a fireworks display in his honor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 29, 2026
"Almost certainly you've got a major local dignitary making themselves at home here," he added.
From BBC ● Jan. 11, 2026
California officials put in place a plan to provide Harris with dignitary protection after President Trump ended an arrangement that gave his opponent in last year’s election extended Secret Service security coverage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2025
A doorman, dressed up as a dignitary with a flaming red band across his white ruffled shirt, opened the car door for them.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
In Gaza City, community elders, mokhtars, local dignitaries and civil defense crews gathered Tuesday for a mass funeral after the recovery effort that was accomplished with a single excavator and simple hand tools.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
It will be attended by athletes from 74 nations and territories as well as dignitaries including Prime Minister Andy Burnham, Scotland's First Minister John Swinney and the First Minister of Wales Rhun ap Iorwerth.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Ahead of the ceremonies, foreign dignitaries convened to pay their respects, including Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, and He Wei, vice chairman of China’s top lawmaking body.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026
Iranians began to gather on Friday for the funeral ceremonies of slain supreme leader Ali Khamenei, as officials and international dignitaries paid their last respects to the man who ran the country for three-and-a-half decades.
From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026
As Brundage spoke, Joe and his crewmates warily eyed the large number of sober German dignitaries lined up behind him.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
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.
