deign

verb \ ˈdān \

|Updated on: 2 Jul 2018

Examples: deign in a Sentence

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

The White House maintains the Eagles organization was disingenuous by not saying until late in the game that few players would deign to be there.

— erik brady, USA TODAY, "Trump has it wrong: Eagles disrespect their president, not their country," 5 June 2018
Anno 1800 Hey, that new Anno game! Ubisoft didn’t deign to show it at its own press conference, but Anno 1880 made an appearance at the PC Gaming Show and that’s good enough for me.

— brad chacos, PCWorld, "PC Gaming Show at E3 2018: Yakuza 0, Warframe: The Sacrifice, Star Control Origins, and a Jaws sim," 11 June 2018
So when the universe deigned to help out, astronomers jumped at the chance.

— joshua sokol, Scientific American, "Gravitational Waves Reveal the Hearts of Neutron Stars," 5 June 2018
This has been going on for years, and every once in a while, one half of the power couple actually deigns to respond.

— refinery29.com, "Will Smith Addresses The Divorce Rumors That Have Plagued Him & Jada For Years," 24 May 2018
Sentient brands: Social media has no shortage of frustrations, but one of its more insidious developments is multimillion-dollar companies deigning to speak with potential customers as if the corporations were people.

— chris barton, latimes.com, "Overrated/Underrated: Richard Ayoade's twisted travel show, and how does a brand's voice sound?," 4 May 2018
None of the Home Nations deigned to even try and qualify either - but the far more interesting story comes from one of the federations who did send a team.

— SI.com, "World Cup Countdown: 19 Weeks to Go - Remembering Egypt's Trailblazers of 1934," 8 Feb. 2018
Half a day later, Trump, the most irritable man on earth, hadn’t deigned to respond to Clinton’s taunt.

— kyle smith, National Review, "Hillary Embarrasses Herself at the Grammys," 29 Jan. 2018
This is in keeping with Trump’s vision of life as an eternal revenge plot against those who have deigned to underestimate him.

— benjamin hart, Daily Intelligencer, "The 5 Most Disturbing New York Times Revelations About Trump’s TV Habits," 9 Dec. 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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

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deign Synonyms

Synonyms

condescend, stoop;

Near Antonyms

rise;

DEIGN Defined for English Language Learners

deign

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

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

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DEIGN Defined for English Language Learners

deign

Definition of deign for English Language Learners

DEIGN Defined for Kids

deign

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