dignity

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noun dig·ni·ty \ˈdig-nə-tē\

: a way of appearing or behaving that suggests seriousness and self-control

: the quality of being worthy of honor or respect

plural dig·ni·ties

Full Definition of DIGNITY

1

:  the quality or state of being worthy, honored, or esteemed

2

a :  high rank, office, or position

b :  a legal title of nobility or honor

3

archaic :  dignitary

4

:  formal reserve or seriousness of manner, appearance, or language

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Examples of DIGNITY

1. She showed dignity in defeat.
2. The ceremony was conducted with great dignity.
3. Theirs is a country that cherishes freedom and human dignity.
4. Jenny Daggers links feminist critiques and interreligious dialogue, arguing that our failure to treat people of other traditions with dignity matches in deed and rhetoric our inability to see that women are full and equal members of the community. —Francis X. Clooney, Commonweal, 11 Sept. 2009
5. When King spoke about the racist past, he gloried in black people beating the odds to win equal rights by arming “ourselves with dignity and self-respect.” —Juan Williams, Wall Street Journal, 4 Apr. 2008
6. The period just after the Revolutionary War (1780-1820) was a time to project hard-won dignity, not show off. Federal interiors featured muted wall colors … and delicately carved or inlaid decoration. —Kelly Beamon, This Old House, March 2008
7. Roger was beaming. His creased fat face literally shone with pleasure, which, for the sake of dignity, he struggled to contain. —Alice Adams, The Story and Its Writer, 1987
8. Every speaker tries to create a love affair with his or her audience. But when the phenomenon called Maya Angelou takes the lectern at Pensacola (Florida) Junior College, she does not so much speak to the audience as “embrace” it. She sings, reads verse, thunders oratorically, even dances. Standing a majestic six feet tall and gifted with a resonant voice and … dignity, she is a poet, preacher, performer extraordinaire. —Cheryl McCall, People , 8 Mar. 1982

Origin of DIGNITY

Middle English dignete, from Anglo-French digneté, from Latin dignitat-, dignitas, from dignus

First Known Use: 13th century

Related to DIGNITY

Synonyms

class, rank, fashion, quality, standing, state

Related Words

gentility, gentleness, nobility, nobleness; grandness, highness, loftiness; distinction, dominance, precedence, preeminence, primacy, superiority; caste, station, status; preferment

Near Antonyms

debasement, degradation; subordinateness, subordination; baseness, commonness, inferiority, lowliness, lowness

Other Foreign Functionary Terms

count, despot, emir, wardrobe, yeoman