Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- v. To think it appropriate to one's dignity; condescend: wouldn't deign to greet the servant who opened the door. See Synonyms at stoop1.
- v. To condescend to give or grant; vouchsafe. "Nor would we deign him burial of his men” ( Shakespeare).
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To think worthy; think well of; think worthy of acceptance.
- To grant or permit, as by condescension or favor.
- To vouchsafe; condescend: with an infinitive for object.
Wiktionary
- v. intransitive To condescend; to accept as appropriate to one's dignity.
- v. transitive To condescend to give; to do something.
GNU Webster's 1913
- v. obsolete To esteem worthy; to consider worth notice; -- opposed to
disdain . - v. To condescend to give or bestow; to stoop to furnish; to vouchsafe; to allow; to grant.
- v. To think worthy; to vouchsafe; to condescend; - - followed by an infinitive.
WordNet 3.0
- v. do something that one considers to be below one's dignity
Etymologies
- From Middle English deignen, from Old French deignier ("consider worthy"), from Latin dignārī, present active infinitive of digno ("consider worthy"), from dignus ("worthy"). Cognate to dignity. (Wiktionary)
- Middle English deinen, from Old French deignier, to regard as worthy, from Latin dignārī, from dignus, worthy; see dek- in Indo-European roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Is the word deign used correctly here: Did the guy actually think he would deign that question with a response?”
“An American Dictionary of the English Language, s.v., "deign," second listing).”
“It could be that religious believers deign to tolerate other religions purely for self-preservation, calculating that since no single religion has majority status it is best to grant a full measure of liberty to other faiths, to ensure maximum liberty for oneself.”
“Republican, on the other hand, filibustered and blocked the bill, which attempted to address an issue of major concern to Americans and major importance to the U.S. economy — an issue the GOP's "Pledge to America" doesn't even deign to mention.”
The Huffington Post: Terrance Heath: A Pledge To 1% of America
“If Strauss would deign to look at any of the research out of The New Teacher Project, or The Education Trust, she would see this.”
“Inflammatory rhetoric and personal attacks have become the norm when "experts" deign to acknowledge sex worker activists.”
“This was in part because I, too, would never deign to like a fat guy.”
Ask Professor Foxy: Does My Size and Not Flirting Keep Me Alone? - Feministing
“Well, Serena Williams is held in awe by nearly all her peers, especially the Americans, but they do not all deign to approach the grand dame of tennis.”
The Guardian: Australian Open 2012 diary: Craving the word of her Serena majesty
“In order to enjoy housing, shopping and services considered average in other parts of the country—clerks that deign to acknowledge your existence, for instance—we have to pay extra.”
“Microsoft is accusing Google of foul play with regard to Google's new App Sync software, which allows Gmail users to tap into any records they might deign to keep in Outlook.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘deign’.
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
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501
Classic
aberration, abstruse, anomaly, assiduous, august, banal, boisterous, dulcet, epitome, impudent, insolent, mellifluous and 401 more...
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11184 more...
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501
Classic
abhor, mirth, obtuse, iota, vex, irk, teem, pith, moot, mete, ire, bane and 401 more...
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501
Classic
aberration, abstruse, anomaly, assiduous, august, banal, boisterous, dulcet, epitome, impudent, insolent, mellifluous and 401 more...
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501
Classic
aberration, abstruse, anomaly, assiduous, august, banal, boisterous, dulcet, epitome, impudent, insolent, mellifluous and 401 more...
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big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6691 more...
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salutes
hail, greet, toast, gesture, saluter, doff, gratulate, acclaim, halse, panegyric, salue, salve and 45 more...
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gre2
aberrant, aberration, aboveboard, abrasive, abstemious, acme, admonish, affable, affluent, alacrity, allegory, alleviate and 1894 more...
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A Song of Ice and Fire
Vocabulary from the epic fantasy series by George R. R. Martin!
destrier, wroth, garron, portcullis, craven, lickspittle, palfrey, ermine, surcoat, brigandine, doublet, deign and 7 more...
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Good Words
fenestering, cetic, immanent, quickening, archetypal, shibboleth, soma, wetware, heritable, Apotheosis, halcyon, cellar door and 482 more...
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Faves
nepenthe, cupidity, anodyne, obdurate, doleful, obsolescent, quale, piquant, velleity, inchoate, disport, facile and 366 more...
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newGRE
mostly from magoosh
imbue, verge on, nonchalant, deliberate, timorous, futile, provisional, dissect, checked, tinged, alluring, visionary and 1046 more...
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My Revised GRE Preparation List
Words from the new GRE : This list consists mostly of words from the book Magoosh-GRE-vocab-ebook, which is one of the best vocab materials available, especially if you have started preparing one ...
alacrity, prosaic, veracity, paucity, contrite, trite, maintain, laconic, pugnacious, disparate, egregious, innocuous and 533 more...
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ADW1
obdurate, obstinate, behest, injunction, enjoin, circumspect, ensconce, discursive, lugubrious, doleful, somber, ken and 2476 more...
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GRE list 1
Bloviate, Bacchanalia, mirth, covet, inconsequential, prescient, heresy, revelry, modality, gentrify, vitiate, tantalize and 182 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for deign.
dailyword This word was used in "Black Hawk Down." Jun 10, 2012
garyth123 condescend Mar 13, 2009
slumry A word with an interesting history--it went from "accept graciously" to the current meaning of "condescend." Jul 17, 2007