If someone behaves or moves with dignity, they are calm, controlled, and admirable.
...her extraordinary dignity and composure.
Synonyms: decorum, breeding, gravity, majesty More Synonyms of dignity
2. uncountable noun
If you talk about the dignity of people or their lives or activities, you mean that they are valuable and worthy of respect.
...the sense of human dignity.
...the integrity and the dignity of our lives and feelings.
3. uncountable noun
Your dignity is the sense that you have of your own importance and value, and other people's respect for you.
If you were wrong, admit it. You won't lose dignity, but will gain respect.
She still has her dignity.
Synonyms: self-importance, pride, self-esteem, morale More Synonyms of dignity
More Synonyms of dignity
dignity in British English
(ˈdɪɡnɪtɪ)
nounWord forms: plural-ties
1.
a formal, stately, or grave bearing
he entered with dignity
2.
the state or quality of being worthy of honour
the dignity of manual labour
3.
relative importance; rank
he is next in dignity to the mayor
4.
sense of self-importance (often in the phrases stand (or be) on one's dignity, beneath one's dignity)
5.
high rank, esp in government or the church
6.
a person of high rank or such persons collectively
Word origin
C13: from Old French dignite, from Latin dignitās merit, from dignus worthy
dignity in American English
(ˈdɪgnəti)
nounWord forms: pluralˈdignities
1.
the quality of being worthy of esteem or honor; worthiness
2.
high repute; honor
3.
the degree of worth, repute, or honor
4.
a high position, rank, or title
5.
loftiness of appearance or manner; stateliness
6.
proper pride and self-respect
7. Archaic
a dignitary
SIMILAR WORDS: deˈcorum
Word origin
ME & OFr dignite < L dignitas, worth, merit < dignus, worthy < IE base *dek-, to receive, be fitting > décor, docile
Examples of 'dignity' in a sentence
dignity
How much social housing could this build to give homeless people some dignity?
The Sun (2016)
Anyone with a sense of dignity.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
I hang there, stripped of all human dignity, my back facing the floor.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
We want to give people back their dignity.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Others simply wanted to see their loved ones depart with dignity.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
That signifies a dignity and high seriousness for fiction comparable to philosophy.
The Times Literary Supplement (2014)
So at least one person had some dignity.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
That we should find this surprising shows how much we have forgotten about the dignity of labour.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
That the show would end with calm and dignity?
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
His disrespect for human dignity has plumbed new depths.
The Sun (2014)
He had a fine sense of the dignity of judicial office.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
We require our suppliers to treat all workers with dignity and respect.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
We are also carrying on our shoulders the dignity of a people.
The Sun (2015)
It is better to leave with your head high and your dignity intact.
The Sun (2008)
He was deprived of his liberty and his human dignity without warning.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
But stronger than his need for food is his need to maintain a sense a dignity.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
She handled it with great dignity and respect.
The Sun (2011)
It offers people the dignity of work instead of a wasted life languishing on the dole.
The Sun (2015)
Everything seems to touch on the soreness of his high dignity.
Elizabeth Gaskell North and South (1855)
They were happy with the honour and dignity of their position and had no wish to give it up.
Simon Ball THE GUARDSMEN (2004)
Anyone who dealt with them would say they acted with dignity and honour but they seem to have lost that.
The Sun (2012)
Now it would seem that we need to do exactly the same to ensure that our elderly loved ones have dignity in hospital.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
From work comes a person 's dignity.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
While the dignity of labour is beyond doubt, hard work can actually get you into trouble.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
It had been a day to honour our Olympians who had performed with such honour and dignity.
The Sun (2012)
After all, our dignity is one of the few things we have left.
The Sun (2009)
He knew there was no one better than him, more able to give that person some dignity.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
He gave the England team dignity, calm and a sense of purpose.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Quotations
I left the room with silent dignity, but caught my foot in the matGeorge GrossmithThe Diary of a Nobody
Our dignity is not in what we do, but in what we understandGeorge SantayanaWinds of Doctrine
By dignity, I mean the high place attained only when the heart and mind are lifted, equally at once, by the creative union of perception and graceJames ThurberLanterns and Lances
In other languages
dignity
British English: dignity /ˈdɪɡnɪtɪ/ NOUN
If someone behaves with dignity, they are serious, calm, and controlled.
...her extraordinary dignity.
American English: dignity
Arabic: كَرَامَة
Brazilian Portuguese: dignidade
Chinese: 尊严
Croatian: dostojanstvo
Czech: důstojnost
Danish: værdighed
Dutch: waardigheid
European Spanish: dignidad
Finnish: arvokkuus
French: dignité
German: Würde
Greek: αξιοπρέπεια
Italian: dignità
Japanese: 威厳
Korean: 존엄성
Norwegian: verdighet
Polish: godność
European Portuguese: dignidade
Romanian: demnitate
Russian: достоинство
Latin American Spanish: dignidad
Swedish: värdighet
Thai: ความมีเกียรติ
Turkish: haysiyet
Ukrainian: гідність
Vietnamese: thái độ đường hoàng
Chinese translation of 'dignity'
dignity
(ˈdɪɡnɪtɪ)
n(u)
(= composure) 庄(莊)严(嚴) (zhuāngyán)
(= worth) 尊严(嚴) (zūnyán)
(= self-respect) 高贵(貴) (gāoguì)
1 (noun)
Definition
serious, calm, and controlled behaviour or manner
Everyone admired her extraordinary dignity and composure.
Synonyms
decorum
I was treated with decorum and respect
breeding
gravity
There was an appealing gravity to everything she said.
majesty
the majesty of the mainland mountains
grandeur
He is wholly concerned with his own grandeur.
respectability
nobility
I found Mr. Mandela supremely courteous, with a genuine nobility of bearing.
propriety
Their sense of social propriety is eroded.
solemnity
the solemnity of the occasion
gentility
The old woman had an air of gentility about her.
courtliness
loftiness
stateliness
2 (noun)
Definition
sense of self-importance
Admit that you were wrong. You won't lose dignity.
Synonyms
self-importance
pride
Her rejection was a severe blow to his pride.
self-esteem
Poor self-esteem is at the centre of many difficulties.
morale
Many pilots are suffering from low morale.
self-respect
Any man with self-respect would have resigned.
self-worth
self-regard
self-possession
amour-propre (French)
3 (noun)
Definition
the quality of being worthy of honour
Synonyms
honour
He brought honour and glory to his country.
standing
He has improved his country's standing abroad.
station
The vast majority knew their station in life and kept to it.
rank
He eventually rose to the rank of captain.
status
She cheated banks to satisfy her desire for money and status.
importance
He was too puffed up with his own importance to accept the verdict.
glory
He had his moment of glory when he won the Berlin Marathon.
excellence
a school once noted for its academic excellence
greatness
respectability
elevation
eminence
pilots who achieved eminence in the aeronautical world
nobleness
Quotations
I left the room with silent dignity, but caught my foot in the mat [George Grossmith – The Diary of a Nobody]Our dignity is not in what we do, but in what we understand [George Santayana – Winds of Doctrine]By dignity, I mean the high place attained only when the heart and mind are lifted, equally at once, by the creative union of perception and grace [James Thurber – Lanterns and Lances]
Additional synonyms
in the sense of courtliness
Synonyms
ceremony,
breeding,
courtesy,
elegance,
formality,
correctness,
refinement,
propriety,
politeness,
decorum,
gallantry,
gentility,
graciousness,
affability,
urbanity,
politesse,
stateliness,
chivalrousness
in the sense of eminence
Definition
the state of being well-known and well-respected
pilots who achieved eminence in the aeronautical world