dignify
Americanverb (used with object)
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to confer honor or dignity upon; honor; ennoble.
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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
- overdignify verb (used with object)
- quasi-dignifying adjective
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.
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
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
When the question was asked, Brendon McCullum did not dignify it with a response.
From BBC • Aug. 31, 2024
Without some capacity for it I could not have qualified as a Mobile, and I received formal training in it on Hain, where they dignify it with the title of Farfetching.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
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.
