deign

verb \ ˈdān \

Updated on: 27 Feb 2018

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

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
Ever since Michelin deigned to start reviewing Chicago restaurants back in 2010, its name has been the one most associated with print guides to local establishments, for better or worse.

— julia thiel, Chicago Reader, "Books / Food & Drink Beyond Michelin: two new local restaurant guides written by locals," 22 Dec. 2017
Just this week, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke dressed down the leader of a California park for deigning to represent scientific consensus on the matter in a tweet.

— benjamin hart, Daily Intelligencer, "CDC Tells Staff to Avoid Seven Words, Including “Evidence-Based”," 16 Dec. 2017
It was inspired by the fig trees that ring the house of Michaud’s mother-in-law in Bergamo, Italy, Giuseppina Carrara, whose land is so rich with the fruit that her family would never deign to eat the skin.

— craig laban, Philly.com, "Osteria is a genuine taste of Italy," 9 Dec. 2017
Similarly, penguins will only deign to eat whole fish that are less than six inches in length and no more than an inch wide.

— jason bittel, Smithsonian, "When Disaster Strikes, the Zoo Must Go On," 11 Sep. 2017
Christopher will remain at the brand through March 31, but his final collection was already deigned for this coming spring.

— avery matera, Teen Vogue, "Adele Says Burberry's Christopher Bailey Was the First Major Designer to Dress Her," 3 Nov. 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;

Near Antonyms

rise;

DEIGN Defined for English Language Learners

deign

verb

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

DEIGN Defined for Kids

deign

verb \ ˈdān \

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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