deign

play

verb \ ˈdān \

Definition of deign

intransitive verb

:to condescend reluctantly and with a strong sense of the affront to one's superiority that is involved :stoop

would not even deign to talk to him

One iconoclastic architect, for example, doesn't deign to speak of bathrooms.
—Carol Vogel

transitive verb

:to condescend to give or offer

never so much as deigning a glance
—George Meredith

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Examples of deign in a Sentence

I wouldn't deign to answer that absurd accusation.

Recent Examples of deign from the Web

Moonlight seems to simply descend, deigning to visit us for the evening.

— ben huberman, Longreads, "Corals and Crabs Get Moonstruck, Too," 10 Aug. 2017
Dany, meanwhile, was on her throne with her people in front of her, starting at a moment’s notice when Jon deigned to take a step toward her.

— elyse roth, Glamour, "'Game of Thrones' Season 7 Episode 3 Recap: Daenerys and Jon Finally Meet," 31 July 2017
The fact that our government would deign to try limit our rights is ridiculous.

— zahra barnes, SELF, "A Conversation With the Founder of Hookers for Health Care," 14 July 2017
And then after that, LePage had the balls to not just get pissed when a democratic colleague deigned to suggest that maybe the Governor was racist.

— jack moore, GQ, "Maine's Governor Says That He Makes up Stories to Mislead the Media," 7 July 2017
The head of NBC News' public relations didn't even deign to respond to the president's mocking gossip.

— rebecca nelson, Cosmopolitan, "President Trump Just Accused Mika Brzezinski of "Bleeding Badly From a Face Lift"," 29 June 2017
A substantial part of it was due simply to the presence in the White House of a president* who didn't know anything about healthcare, and who wouldn't deign to learn anything about it, either.

— charles p. pierce, Esquire, "Even if Trumpcare Fails, They'll Blame Democrats," 28 June 2017
For these young soldiers, guarding Saddam was like visiting the zoo to watch a lion that, though deadly, rarely does anything but sit, eat and sleep, only occasionally deigning to walk across the cage to thrill his audience.

— william bardenwerper, Newsweek, "In His Final Days, Saddam Hussein Shared Stories With American Soldiers and Smoked Cuban Cigars," 13 June 2017
Though one expects the royals, like de Havilland, won’t be deigning to comment.

— rebecca keegan, VanityFair.com, "The One Thing Hollywood Writers Can’t Stomach Losing," 19 Apr. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'deign.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of deign

Middle English, from Anglo-French deigner, from Latin dignare, dignari, from dignus worthy — more at decent

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First Known Use: 14th century

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deign Synonyms

Synonyms

condescend, stoop

Related Words

abase, debase, degrade, demean, discredit, disgrace, dishonor, humble, humiliate, lower, shame

Near Antonyms

rise

DEIGN Defined for English Language Learners

deign

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verb

Definition of deign for English Language Learners

: to do something that you think you should not have to do because you are too important

DEIGN Defined for Kids

deign

play

verb \ ˈdān \

Definition of deign for Students

deigned; deigning

:to do something a person considers below his or her dignity

The teenager deigned to play with his little cousin.

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DEIGN Defined for English Language Learners

deign

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