Vouchsafe
verb ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
- 1 To graciously give, to condescendingly grant a right, benefit, outcome, etc.; to deign to acknowledge.
"If Brutus will vouchſafe that Antony / May ſafely come to him ..."
- 2 grant in a condescending manner wordnet
- 3 To receive or accept in condescension.
"Nancy's lips parted abruptly, as if there were angry words all ready to come; but her eyes, resting on Pollyanna's jubilantly trustful face, saw something that prevented the words being spoken. "Humph!" she vouchsafed. Then, showing her old-time interest, she went on: "But, say, it is queer, his speakin' to you, honestly, Miss Pollyanna. He don't speak ter no one; and he lives all alone in a great big lovely house all full of jest grand things, they say. Some says he's crazy, and some jest cross; and some says he's got a skeleton in his closet.""
- 4 To disclose or divulge.
"She vouchsafed to me that she regretted ever marrying him."
Example
More examples"There, in a temple built of ancient stone / I worship: "Grant, Thymbrean lord divine, / a home, a settled city of our own, / walls to the weary, and a lasting line, / to Troy another Pergamus. Incline / and harken. Save these Dardans sore-distrest, / the remnant of Achilles' wrath. Some sign / vouchsafe us, whom to follow? where to rest? / Steal into Trojan hearts, and make thy power confessed.""
Etymology
From vouch + safe, written as two words in Middle English and early Modern English.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.