dignify
Americanverb (used with object)
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dignifies,
present (3rd person singular)
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dignified,
past participle, past
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dignifying
present participle
-
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
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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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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dignifysimple
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dignifiessimple
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have dignifiedperfect
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has dignifiedperfect
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am dignifyingprogressive
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are dignifyingprogressive
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is dignifyingprogressive
-
have been dignifyingperfect progressive
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has been dignifyingperfect progressive
Past
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dignifiedsimple
-
had dignifiedperfect
-
was dignifyingprogressive
-
were dignifyingprogressive
-
had been dignifyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of dignify
1375–1425; late Middle English dignifien < Old French dignefier < Medieval Latin dignificāre, equivalent to Latin dign ( us ) worthy + -ificāre -ify
Explanation
To dignify is to grant nobility or respect to something. Dignifying raises the status of things. Dignity is a quality of honor and respect, so to dignify is to give greater respect and honor to something or someone. The presence of the President would dignify a military ceremony. Medals are given to dignify soldiers. Treating people with respect and taking them seriously dignifies them. Often, this word is used in a negative sense, as in "I wouldn't dignify him with an answer!" That means the speaker doesn't feel the person asking the question deserves respect.
Vocabulary lists containing dignify
The Cay
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Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)
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Heat
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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:
You are making sure you dignify those relationships, in your own way.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026
As in Samuel Beckett’s tragicomic theater and novels, Tarr’s movies, by turns funny and heartbreaking, dignify human struggle with an uncommon tenacity of vision and empathy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 8, 2026
Ms. Nuzzi will not dignify efforts to impugn her character with any future response,” Nuzzi’s lawyer Ari Wilkenfeld said in a statement.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 4, 2025
A spokesperson for Khan told the BBC: "We are not going to dignify his appalling and bigoted comments with a response."
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2025
What participial adjective is formed from the verb "dignify"? Ans.
From New Word-Analysis by William Swinton
Your marches are full of empty promises and until you take action that dignifies and respects Black women, I have no choice but to ignore you.
From Salon ● Nov. 15, 2020
But Chalfant, 74, the winner of last year’s Obie Award for lifetime achievement, complicates and dignifies the material.
From New York Times ● Nov. 1, 2019
Heat, however, neither disguises nor dignifies their narcissism of small differences.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 9, 2019
I am so grateful that New York state dignifies immigrants to offer them Medicaid.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 30, 2017
The service we essay is connected with an educational institution, using the term in the specific sense; a fact, it may be said at the outset, which of itself dignifies the occasion.
From The History of Dartmouth College by Baxter Perry Smith
Only rarely do the dignified characters allow their emotions to come storming out.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026
We do hope that he will finally say something to America, Ukraine, and the entire world that will lead to a real and dignified peace.
From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2026
Caesar affected to disdain high office but in 27 B.C. maneuvered the Senate into bestowing upon him, as Agrippa relates, “the dignified honorific of Augustus—‘the Revered One’—close to, but not quite, divine.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
"He had very limited family involvement around his passing but we assured it was appropriate, met his wishes and was dignified."
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
For a decade now, Devaney had sponsored this conference—called ASF, or the American Securitization Forum, in part because it sounded more dignified than the Association for Subprime Lending.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
"You build peace by transforming pain. That takes more than diplomacy. It takes dialogue, decentralised participation and dignifying people's experiences," she said.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2025
“They spent too much time dignifying her as a witness for a case that’s about paper entries,” Trusty said.
From Salon ● May 10, 2024
In Ostlund’s biting comedy, de Leon embraced the task of dignifying a character who essentially represents the millions of Filipinos working abroad to support their families back home.
From New York Times ● Oct. 7, 2022
Asked for comment on Sunday evening regarding the altercation, John LaBombard, a spokesman for Sinema, told The Washington Post: “We are not dignifying this behavior with a response.”
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 5, 2021
Last of all came a stocky and erect young fellow, with a muscular frame dignifying an over-worn suit of clothes.
From In Pastures New by George Ade
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
