Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- transitive verb To make noble.
- transitive verb To confer nobility upon.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To make noble; confer a title of nobility on.
- To dignify; exalt; elevate in degree, excellence, or respect.
- To make notable, famous, or memorable.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb To make noble; to elevate in degree, qualities, or excellence; to dignify.
- transitive verb To raise to the rank of nobility.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb To bestow with
nobility ,honour orgrace . - verb To ennoble textile fabrics, the industrial processes of dry-cleaning, printing and embossing, and sizing and finishing, which together are known as 'ennobling fabrics'.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb confer dignity or honor upon
- verb give a title to someone; make someone a member of the nobility
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word ennoble.
Examples
-
By thus declaring himself the follower of so fine a craftsman, Dante suggests, he hopes to "ennoble" his own undertaking.
Dante Alighieri Wetherbee, Winthrop 2006
-
They believe in the power of the Holy Spirit to correct and ennoble.
John Shore: Why Pastors Struggle With Confronting Domestic Violence John Shore 2011
-
The work will be an output of heroism, and it will ennoble even those who will not know of it.
-
Van Dyck's portraits helped to ennoble many of the plutocrats.
Notice of Arrival Willard Spiegelman 2011
-
The music serves to uplift, beautify, and ennoble some other action taking place, and that action itself holds primacy over the music itself.
-
They believe in the power of the Holy Spirit to correct and ennoble.
John Shore: Why Pastors Struggle With Confronting Domestic Violence John Shore 2011
-
Cilea's alternately swooning, scintillating and thundering score does much to ennoble the overwrought claptrap of the opera's libretto.
Review: Washington Concert Opera's 'Adriana Lecouvreur' at Lisner Auditorium Joe Banno 2010
-
He does not reflect much on how a double occupation would complicate and perhaps ennoble resistance.
They All Knew They Were Right Timothy Snyder 2011
-
This Parisian early prototype, however, lacked the spicy seasonings that ennoble the classic cocktail we know today.
The Bloody Mary Makeover Steve Garbarino 2011
-
Then, we embodying the generosity and engagement that pulsates at the heart of Jewish tradition, this day will truly be a portal to a Shabbat LaShem, a Sabbath of the Lord, and we will be living the kind of covenanted community that can ennoble humanity and all creation.
Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson: Possessing And Releasing Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson 2011
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.