ennobled; ennobling
i-ˈnō-b(ə-)liŋ 
e-ˈnō-
1
: to make noble : elevate
seemed ennobled by suffering
2
: to raise to the rank of nobility
Synonyms
Examples of ennoble in a Sentence
a life ennobled by suffering
Her skill and talent ennoble her profession.
He was ennobled by the queen.
Recent Examples on the Web
In the particular case of van Gogh, no human being in the forty thousand years of humanity has ever been more inspired to ecstasy by experienced nature, and none has ever been a humbler companion in the struggles of ordinary people or inclined to ennoble them in art.
—
Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 2 Nov. 2022
What Gadsby did was give the audience permission — moral permission — to turn their backs on what challenged them, and to ennoble a preference for comfort and kitsch.
—Jason Farago, New York Times, 1 June 2023
And the dish that takes you out of a bistro and into a fine-dining temple — blushing beef tenderloin topped with near-liquid roasted marrow — is ennobled with a moistener of black truffles, Madeira and a veal reduction that takes three days to make.
—Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 21 Apr. 2023
Making and thinking with these leftovers from the production gave rise to a notion of making a building of them as a sympathetic way of using and ennobling scrap materials that would otherwise have been used as firewood.
—Kimberley Mok, Treehugger, 28 Mar. 2023
There’s no attempt to ennoble the character.
—Charles McNultytheater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 7 June 2022
Two Wheels Good is clearly the work of a writer who loves to ride his bicycle but declines to ennoble it with odes to environmental virtue or social justice.
—Curbed, 25 May 2022
Art Deco deluxe, when American architects deployed whole arsenals of Italianate and neo-medieval styles to ennoble their high-rise palazzos.
—Curbed, 18 Aug. 2022
In its lavish display of thriving life, the greenery seems both to reflect her fate and to ennoble her immediate experience.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 5 May 2022
See More
Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 2 Nov. 2022
What Gadsby did was give the audience permission — moral permission — to turn their backs on what challenged them, and to ennoble a preference for comfort and kitsch.
—Jason Farago, New York Times, 1 June 2023
And the dish that takes you out of a bistro and into a fine-dining temple — blushing beef tenderloin topped with near-liquid roasted marrow — is ennobled with a moistener of black truffles, Madeira and a veal reduction that takes three days to make.
—Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 21 Apr. 2023
Making and thinking with these leftovers from the production gave rise to a notion of making a building of them as a sympathetic way of using and ennobling scrap materials that would otherwise have been used as firewood.
—Kimberley Mok, Treehugger, 28 Mar. 2023
There’s no attempt to ennoble the character.
—Charles McNultytheater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 7 June 2022
Two Wheels Good is clearly the work of a writer who loves to ride his bicycle but declines to ennoble it with odes to environmental virtue or social justice.
—Curbed, 25 May 2022
Art Deco deluxe, when American architects deployed whole arsenals of Italianate and neo-medieval styles to ennoble their high-rise palazzos.
—Curbed, 18 Aug. 2022
In its lavish display of thriving life, the greenery seems both to reflect her fate and to ennoble her immediate experience.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 5 May 2022
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ennoble.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Middle English ennobelen, from Middle French ennoblir, from Old French, from en- + noble noble
First Known Use
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of ennoble was
in the 15th century
Dictionary Entries Near ennoble
Cite this Entry
“Ennoble.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ennoble. Accessed 28 Nov. 2023.
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