deign

American  

[deyn] / deɪn /

verb (used without object)

• deigns,
  present (3rd person singular)
• deigned,
  past participle,  past
• deigning
  present participle

1. to think it appropriate to or in accordance with one's dignity; condescend.

   He would not deign to discuss the matter with us.

---

verb (used with object)

• deigns,
  present (3rd person singular)
• deigned,
  past participle,  past
• deigning
  present participle

1. to condescend to give or grant.

   He deigned no reply.

2. Obsolete. to condescend to accept.

deign British  

/ deɪn /

verb

1. (intr) to think it fit or worthy of oneself (to do something); condescend

   he will not deign to speak to us

2. archaic (tr) to vouchsafe

   he deigned no reply

---

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

• deigning
  present
• deigned
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• deign
  simple
• deigns
  simple
• have deigned
  perfect
• has deigned
  perfect
• am deigning
  progressive
• are deigning
  progressive
• is deigning
  progressive
• have been deigning
  perfect progressive
• has been deigning
  perfect progressive

Past

• deigned
  simple
• had deigned
  perfect
• was deigning
  progressive
• were deigning
  progressive
• had been deigning
  perfect progressive

Future

• will deign
  simple
• will have deigned
  perfect
• will be deigning
  progressive
• will have been deigning
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of deign

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English deinen, de(i)gnen, from Old French de(i)gnier, from Latin dignārī, dignāre “to judge worthy,” equivalent to dign(us) “worthy” + -ārī infinitive suffix

Explanation

Deign means to reluctantly agree to do something you consider beneath you. When threatened with the loss of her fortune, an heiress might deign to get a job, but she might look down her nose at the people she'd have to work with. Deign has the same origins as dignity. Both descend from the Latin word, dignare, meaning "to deem worthy." If you deign to do something, you don't feel it's worthy of your lofty stature, but you do it anyway — it's like you're doing someone a really big favor. Instead of admitting his wrongdoing, the politician who is accused of taking bribes might indignantly declare, "I won't deign to dignify your ridiculous accusations with a response!"

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

deign deigns deigned deigning

While I would never deign to speak for all critics — I’ve been around enough to know I don’t need that smoke — we’re not generally fans of inscrutability.

From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026

Still, when she does deign to speak, there’s a dynamite scene where she dresses down Julian critically and psychologically.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2026

And that brings down prices for every airline passenger—whether you deign to fly Spirit or not.

From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2024

Brown and black bears focus on the oily brains and nutritious roe of salmon when the fish are abundant and deign to chow down on whole fish only in years when salmon aren’t plentiful.

From Scientific American ● Apr. 11, 2023

“Smuggling,” said Ratwin, “is a word we doesn’t deign to use on this boat, please to remember.”

From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell

His Ray always seems to be hiding behind a motorcycle visor even when he’s not and when he deigns to speak, the words trail off in a huff of exhaustion.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 5, 2026

More than that, he also secured a prized meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a head of government who rarely deigns to trouble himself with mere foreign ministers.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2024

The comedian has become a hilarious and refreshingly theatrical presence whenever he deigns to visit the "Weekend Update" desk, and when he breaks out the costumes, you know it's going to be good.

From Salon ● Apr. 9, 2023

But in “The Power Notebooks,” she deigns to give them a try.

From New York Times ● Feb. 26, 2020

Though Quin Veturius is seventy-seven years old, women blush when he looks them in the eye, and men wince when he deigns to shake their hands.

From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir

That applied to observers who deigned to take photographs of the case's famous players in the courthouse and lawyers who pushed their questions into territory the judge had previously made clear were off-limits.

From BBC ● May 15, 2026

Times were unimportant, however, as the racers who deigned to take to the Stelvio course finetuned their lines down the course in the kind of flat light that is also forecast for Saturday's medal race.

From Barron's ● Feb. 6, 2026

Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh have all issued rebukes to lower courts that deigned to question their reasoning.

From Salon ● Oct. 14, 2025

Chris Pine’s rep deigned to respond to the ‘ridiculous story’ that Harry Styles spit at Pine during ‘Don’t Worry Darling’s’ Venice debut.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2022

When he deigned to look in my direction, he offered nothing but contempt.

From "Crispin: The Cross of Lead" by Avi

The love of ambiguity can feel somewhat coy—Ms. Tokarczuk gestures toward the existence of occult mysteries without deigning to fully portray them.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 28, 2025

Before deigning to unveil his characters’ undeveloped souls, Bergman shows us the variety of masks they have been taught to adopt.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2021

The “communications” office specializes in stonewalling, often not even deigning to issue a “no comment.”

From Washington Post ● Jan. 2, 2019

Suddenly, the former president lifted his right arm into the air, his fingers extended backward, snapping them without, however, deigning to look at the man behind him.

From The Guardian ● Dec. 2, 2018

He fussed over my condescension in deigning to learn anything about his country.

From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin