You searched for: “deigns
deign (DAYN) (verb), deigns; deigned; deigning
1. To do something in a way which shows that it is considered a great favor: Shirley doubts that her former boy friend will deign> to accept her invitation to her wedding.
2. To behave reluctantly towards other people to reveal information, as though they were socially or intellectually inferior: The owner of the house deigns to tell his neighbors how much money he received for the recent sale of his house.

Since Marsha was short of cash, she deigned to ask the salesman how much it would cost for a new cell phone.

3. To condescend or to behave in a patronizing manner, to be conscious of having come from a superior position; in keeping with a person's dignity: The congressman will deign to visit to the small community next week.

The teacher would not even deign to talk to the student because the boy was such a miscreant.

The actress got out of the car and just walked on by and did not deign to speak to nor even acknowledge any of her fans who were standing on the sidewalk near the hotel entrance.

4. Etymology: from Old French deignier, from Latin dignari, "to consider worthy".
This entry is located in the following unit: dign-, dain- (page 1)