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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Dignity \Dig"ni*ty\, noun; pl. {Dignities}. [OE. dignete, dignite, OF. dignet['e], dignit['e], F. dignit['e], fr. L. dignitas, from dignus worthy. See {Dainty}, {Deign}.]
1. The state of being worthy or honorable; elevation of mind or character; true worth; excellence.
2. Elevation; grandeur.
The dignity of this act was worth the audience of kings. --Shak.
3. Elevated rank; honorable station; high office, political or ecclesiastical; degree of excellence; preferment; exaltation. --Macaulay.
And the king said, What honor and dignity hath been done to Mordecai for this? --Esth. vi. 3.
Reuben, thou art my firstborn, . . . the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power. --Gen. xlix. 3.
4. Quality suited to inspire respect or reverence; loftiness and grace; impressiveness; stateliness; -- said of mien, manner, style, etc.
A letter written with singular energy and dignity of thought and language. --Macaulay.
5. One holding high rank; a dignitary.
These filthy dreamers . . . speak evil of dignities. --Jude. 8.
6. Fundamental principle; axiom; maxim. [Obs.]
Sciences concluding from dignities, and principles known by themselves. --Sir T. Browne.
Syn: See {Decorum}.
{To stand upon one's dignity}, to have or to affect a high notion of one's own rank, privilege, or character.
They did not stand upon their dignity, nor give their minds to being or to seeming as elegant and as fine as anybody else. --R. G. White.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
dignity
noun
1: the quality of being worthy of esteem or respect; "it was beneath his dignity to cheat"; "showed his true dignity when under pressure" [syn: {self-respect}, {self-esteem}, {self-regard}]
2: formality in bearing and appearance; "he behaved with great dignity" [syn: {lordliness}, {gravitas}]
3: high office or rank or station; "he respected the dignity of the emissaries"
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
187 Moby Thesaurus words for "dignity": Atticism, Establishment, VIP, address, appropriateness, augustness, baron, big gun, big man, big name, bigwig, brass, brass hat, buckram, cachet, celebrity, ceremonial, ceremoniousness, ceremony, chasteness, chastity, clarity, classicalism, classicism, clearness, comeliness, consequence, correctness, courtliness, decency, dignifiedness, dignitary, directness, discrimination, distinction, ease, elder, elegance, elegancy, elevation, eminence, esteem, ethicalness, ethics, etiquette, excellence, extrinsicality, face, fame, father, felicitousness, felicity, figure, finish, fittingness, flow, flowing periods, fluency, form, formality, formalization, glory, good taste, grace, gracefulness, gracility, grandeur, grandness, gravity, great man, greatness, hauteur, high place, honor, honorableness, impersonality, importance, important person, interests, kingliness, kudos, level, limpidity, lion, loftiness, lordliness, lords of creation, lucidity, magnate, magnificence, majesty, man of mark, memorability, merit, mogul, morality, nabob, name, naturalness, neatness, nobility, nobleness, notability, notable, noteworthiness, panjandrum, pellucidity, perfection, person of renown, personage, personality, perspicuity, pillar of society, plainness, poise, polish, pomp, pomposity, position, power, power elite, prestige, pride, pride of bearing, pride of place, primness, princeliness, prominence, propriety, proud bearing, purity, rank, refinement, regality, remarkableness, renown, reputation, repute, respectability, restraint, rigidness, ritual, rituality, ruling circle, sachem, salience, sedateness, seemliness, self-confidence, self-esteem, self-importance, self-regard, self-respect, simplicity, smoothness, sobriety, solemnity, somebody, something, standing, starchiness, state, stateliness, station, stature, status, stiffness, stiltedness, straightforwardness, stylization, sublimity, taste, tastefulness, terseness, the great, the top, top brass, top people, tycoon, unaffectedness, venerability, very important person, virtue, weight, worth, worthiness, worthy
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