Knight

To grant someone the rank and honor of knighthood.

Reach for it when describing the formal act in a monarchy, not using honor as a loose synonym

The sovereign will knight the scientist for distinguished public service.

• everyday

  honor

  recognition matters more than the specific rank

  not when Honor covers awards of every kind and omits the royal act.

• warm

  acclaim

  public praise and admiration are the result

  not when Acclaim is informal recognition rather than a sovereign act.

• professional

  decorate

  an official medal or award recognizes service

  not when Decorate can mean ornament and grants no rank.

• formal

  ennoble

  someone is formally raised to noble rank

  not when Ennoblement may grant another title through a different ceremony.

• formal

  invest

  a formal ceremony confers office or membership

  not when Invest requires the title or order to be named and is not specific to knighthood.

• literary

  dub

  the ceremonial naming as a knight is the precise historical action

  not when Dub now commonly means nickname or label and can confuse readers.

• degrade
• dishonor
• strip of rank

• knight the recipient

  The king will knight the recipient during the summer ceremony.

• decision to knight

  The decision to knight the physician recognized decades of public work.

• formally knight

  The sovereign formally knighted the composer at the palace.

The verb refers to a specific institution of monarchy. It should not be presented as a universal measure of merit.