Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1400-1500
Language: Old French
Origin: dignifier, from Latin dignus 'deserving admiration'

dignify

 verb
     
dig‧ni‧fy past tense and past participle dignified, present participle dignifying, third person singular dignifies [transitive]
to make something or someone seem better or more important than they really are, especially by using a particular word to describe them
dignify somebody/something with something
I cannot dignify him with the name 'physician'.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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