dignify
Americanverb (used with object)
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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
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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
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have been dignifyingperfect progressive
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has been dignifyingperfect progressive
Past
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dignifiedsimple
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had dignifiedperfect
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was dignifyingprogressive
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were dignifyingprogressive
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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:
Monarchical trappings dignified Napoleon Bonaparte’s power grab and still dignify the Inauguration Days of American presidents.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 8, 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
New York Rep. Mike Lawler said Greene’s belief “doesn’t dignify a response,” while Nebraska Rep. Don Bacon observed that “I think enough has already been said. I ignore her.”
From Slate ● Oct. 12, 2024
Mr Galloway initially says he won't dignify this with a response, but can't resist a jibe of his own.
From BBC ● Feb. 23, 2024
"I won't dignify that question with a response."
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
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 speeches in which Mr. Gladstone's Budgets were expounded, especially those of 1860 and 1861, are superb specimens of the eloquence which increases, while it dignifies, the force of reason.
From Letters of Lord Acton To Mary, Daughter of the Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone by Acton, John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton, Baron
Trump’s remarks were made as he traveled to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to attend a dignified transfer of U.S. service members killed in the war.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
"They don't believe that safe, dignified burials could really help," says Dr Babou Rukengeza from the charity Save The Children.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
"We started here on July 25th, the very next day, to do all the work...so that all those people could have dignified burials."
From Barron's ● Jul. 5, 2026
Others I first prompted, gently, that “some men feel it’s more dignified not to ask for anything on Father’s Day,” and invited them to set that feeling aside.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 17, 2026
He sat on the sofa, silent and dignified, while Mami fed him crackers and lemonade.
From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago
It’s a building that delivers an architectural premium in small, cost-efficient, dignifying doses.
From New York Times ● Feb. 4, 2022
Faith is really important and dignifying the faith and respecting it is really important to us.
From Salon ● Oct. 8, 2021
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
"I am not dignifying de Becker's passive aggressive allegations or his crazy conspiracy theories," he said in a statement to Page Six.
From BBC ● Feb. 8, 2019
It is the noblest possession of a man, constituting a rank in itself, and an estate in the general goodwill; dignifying every station, and exalting every position in society.
From Self help; with illustrations of conduct and perseverance by Smiles, Samuel
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.
