Deign

//deɪn// verb

verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To condescend; to do despite a perceived affront to one's dignity. intransitive

    "He didn’t even deign to give us a nod of the head; he thought us that far beneath him."

  2. 2
    do something that one considers to be below one's dignity wordnet
  3. 3
    To condescend to give; to do something. transitive

    "Nor would we deigne him buriall of his men, / Till he diſburſed, at Saint Colmes ynch, / Ten thouſand Dollars, to our generall vſe."

  4. 4
    To esteem worthy; to consider worth notice. obsolete

    "Go, go, be gone, to ſaue your Ship from wrack, / Which cannot periſh hauing thee aboarde, / Being deſtin’d to a drier death on ſhore : / I muſt goe ſend ſome better Meſſenger, / I fear my Iulia would not daigne my lines, / Receiuing them from ſuch a worthleſſe poſt."

Synonyms

All synonyms
condescendaccedeaccede toacceptaccordaccord to

Example

More examples

"She would not deign to consider such an offer."

Etymology

From Middle English deynen, from Old French deignier (“consider worthy”), from Latin dignāre (“consider worthy”), from dignus (“worthy”). Cognate to dignity and French daigner.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.