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. 2009When 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. 2008The 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 2008Roger 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, 1987Every 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
She showed dignity in defeat.
The ceremony was conducted with great dignity.
Theirs is a country that cherishes freedom and human dignity.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Each offering is a place to uplift truth, refuse silence and, through images and words, bear witness to our dignity and power.—Essence, 25 June 2025 But in a way, that's nothing new; trans people have been fighting for their rights, dignity, and liberation for generations.—Veralyn Williams, NPR, 25 June 2025 The senate’s habitual obsession with women as a threat (to conquest, power, imperial security, male dignity) cannot be overstated.—Literary Hub
june 23, Literary Hub, 23 June 2025 To be effective and ethically sound, any new fertility policy must uphold core principles: the dignity of human life, the strength of the family, and the responsible use of taxpayer dollars.—Christopher Hale, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for dignity
Word History
Etymology
Middle English dignete, from Anglo-French digneté, from Latin dignitat-, dignitas, from dignus
Share