vouchsafe
Americanverb (used with object)
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vouchsafes,
present (3rd person singular)
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vouchsafed,
past participle, past
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vouchsafing
present participle
verb (used without object)
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vouchsafes,
present (3rd person singular)
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vouchsafed,
past participle, past
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vouchsafing
present participle
verb
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to give or grant or condescend to give or grant
she vouchsafed no reply
he vouchsafed me no encouragement
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(may take a clause as object or an infinitive) to agree, promise, or permit, often graciously or condescendingly
he vouchsafed to come yesterday
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obsolete
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to warrant as being safe
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to bestow as a favour (upon)
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Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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vouchsafesimple
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vouchsafessimple
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have vouchsafedperfect
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has vouchsafedperfect
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am vouchsafingprogressive
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are vouchsafingprogressive
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is vouchsafingprogressive
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have been vouchsafingperfect progressive
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has been vouchsafingperfect progressive
Past
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vouchsafedsimple
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had vouchsafedperfect
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was vouchsafingprogressive
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were vouchsafingprogressive
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had been vouchsafingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of vouchsafe
1275–1325; Middle English phrase vouche sauf. See vouch, safe
Explanation
Vouchsafe is a verb meaning to offer something in a condescending way. You might vouchsafe to your brother the secret to your key lime pie recipe. Because vouchsafe can mean making an offering in a gracious way, it’s sometimes used in reference to religious acts — you might vouchsafe your prayers unto God. Vouchsafe can also mean doing something in a condescending way, which makes it a word that's used in many of other contexts. For example, your fancy great aunt might vouchsafe to visit your dorm room. Vouchsafe comes from the Middle English expression “To vouch something safe on someone,” meaning you confer something in a way that's secure.
Vocabulary lists containing vouchsafe
The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
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The Tempest
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Beowulf vocabulary
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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:
A monk named Paschalis devotes his life to a biography of the noncanonical saint Wilgefortis, a venerated Christian noblewoman who grew a beard to vouchsafe her chastity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 28, 2025
“And it’s my first time at the Los Angeles Times Book Festival. I suppose, given the circumstances, it’s OK to vouchsafe my secrets or at least one secret about this book.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 24, 2022
And requiring that staff safeguard themselves and others is not “socialism”; it’s a necessity to vouchsafe the public welfare.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 19, 2021
All of my life, I had never rid myself of the preposterous idea that someday Young would vouchsafe to me some life-altering truth, until one day it happened.
From New York Times ● Aug. 20, 2019
"To vouchsafe for our good intentions, my brother Ser Perwyn will remain here until she is safely returned to you."
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
Although federal law vouchsafes a right to interpreters, financially strapped hospitals often slide by with a minimum of service.
From Time Magazine Archive
We secure the latter firmly to the couch; the former vouchsafes to deliver a stream of car chases and oh-no-they-locked-themselves-in-the-walk-in-freezer episodes.
From Time Magazine Archive
Still I am wordless, whereupon he vouchsafes, with an exasperating drawl, that the fly's one virtue lies in the fact that it prefers picturesque food which is very eatable.
From Seeds of Pine by Janey Canuck
And even more happy than proud, since the most splendid gift which the Divine Being from time to time vouchsafes to poor humanity is that of genius.
From Beethoven: A Memoir (2nd Ed.) by Elliott Graeme
“Is it the blessed Winifred, who again vouchsafes to address me?”
From Guy Fawkes or The Gunpowder Treason by William Harrison Ainsworth
Being in Iran hasn’t vouchsafed them much happiness.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 16, 2026
God has vouchsafed to me a priceless gift in the weapon of ahimsa.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 15, 2022
In a statement in February, however, the Taliban affirmed that the rights vouchsafed to women by Islam included business ownership, inheritance, education, work, choosing one’s husband, security, health, and “a good life.”
From The New Yorker ● Oct. 21, 2019
Not that Oliver seemed dispirited – he and Bill had been swimming in Hampstead Pond that morning: “We like to listen to music on headphones while we swim,” Oliver vouchsafed.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 4, 2015
Frantically, I riffled the pages of my book, hoping to be vouchsafed a map.
From "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine
A pivotal battleground would be in the Central Valley, where spraying of the herbicide is common l and agricultural groups defend it as an essential tool in controlling weeds and vouchsafing the food supply.
From New York Times ● Apr. 10, 2017
Instead, Mr. Pence has thrown himself into the work with relish, constantly vouchsafing the character of “this good man” Donald Trump.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2016
I thank Mr. Nichols for vouchsafing us that glimpse of a watershed opening night in American drama, an uncommon gift from one theater lover to many others.
From New York Times ● Mar. 16, 2012
Lahiri speaks quietly and deliberately, vouchsafing only the occasional smile.
From Time Magazine Archive
“For a quarter yes, but then the probation was over, and it is hardly etiquette to dismiss a pupil in the middle of a term without vouchsafing any reason.”
From The Triumph of Jill by F.E. Mills Young
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.
