From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdeign to do somethingdeign to do somethingWILLINGto do something that you think you are really too important to do – often used humorously Travis called after her, but she didn’t deign to answer. → deign
Examples from the Corpus
deign to do something• Paige didn't deign to answer.• The mistress of Socrates deigned to Cast her smile on this unknown poet.• The detective was constantly surprised at the men that some women deigned to have relationships with.• Caligula was degenerate but, by all accounts, did not deign to hide the fact.• Shelly finally deigned to join us for lunch.• It had taken this long for her to deign to notice me.• His voice, when finally he deigned to open his mouth, was smooth.• It deigns to pay 0.5 per cent on deposits of less than £500 in its Liquid Gold account.• He would often be dressed in just a loose-fitting pair of shorts, but sometimes deigned to wear a vest as well. 