I looked up this word before, and I got a definition which sounded something like "to do something one considers to be beneath oneself," but I can't remember exactly what the word was.
I can think of a would-be sentence, though, save the tenses:
She displayed a ... as she finally picked up the trash bag and flung it into the waste bin.
Thank you :)
The verb deign means to do something you consider to be beneath your dignity. It doesn't exactly fit in your example sentence - you would use it like
She finally deigned to pick up the trash bag...
Google Books claims 2220 written instances of...
People who] would not stoop to that
stoop (definition 2) - lower one’s moral standards so far as to do something reprehensible
It's a figurative extension from the primary meaning bend one’s head or body forwards and downwards (i.e. - metaphorically drop to a "lower" level of moral standards than normal).
You can use the verb condescend to get the message across:
She finally condescended to pick up the trash bag and fling it into the waste bin.
The verb is often used to show disapproval, so it should fit your example. Definition:
to do something that one regards as below one's dignity
If someone condescends to do something, they agree to do it, but in a way which shows that they think they are better than other people and should not have to do it.
Consider,
She swallowed her pride as she finally picked up the trash bag...
swallow one's pride: fig. to forget one's pride and accept something humiliating. McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs
She finally lowered herself to picking up the trash bag...
lower oneself: to humble oneself; to do something one considers to be beneath one's dignity. Your Dictionary
She got off her high horse as she finally picked up the trash bag...
get off one's high horse and get (down) off one's high horse
: to become humble; to be less haughty. It's about time that you got down off your high horse. Would you get off your high horse and talk to me? McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs
If you go from a slightly different angle (and don't mind a tinge of archaism), you could use abase.
TheFreeDictionary gives its definition as follows:
a·base (ə-bās′)
tr.v. a·based, a·bas·ing, a·bas·es
To lower in rank, prestige, or esteem. See Synonyms at debase.
And you could use that in a sentence in the following way:
I wouldn't abase myself by descending to hold no conversation with him' replied the Dodger.
Oliver Twist Or The Parish Boy's Progress by Dickens, Charles
demean oneself: Do something that is beneath one’s dignity:
'She demeaned herself as she finally picked up the trash bag and flung it into the waste bin.'
The word disdain would fit into your sentence:
...making the sentence:
She displayed (a) disdain as she finally picked up the trash bag and flung it into the waste bin.
This usage is also often see as:
With that said, I agree with another poster that rewording the sentence to make deign work would adhere to (my interpretation of) your intended meaning at least as well or better:
She finally deigned to...
(Hat tip to @dj-far)
If you're insistent on the wording of the rest of the sentence,
She displayed a hauteur worthy of Petit Trianon as she finally picked up the trash bag and flung it into the waste bin.
If you kept the 'a' you would be leaving a clue that you knew that in French it's one of those words that takes la not l'. English and French pronunciation əʊˈtɜ:r/. Or that you were using the American pronunciation promoted by Merriam-Webster, but not used by all Americans hoʊˈtɝ:/.
Definition of HAUTEUR Merriam-Webster
: arrogance, haughtiness
In your example, she may have felt that she had "dirtied her hands", both literally and figuratively. Some people feel demeaned by doing a job they feel is beneath their education or birth or entitlement. (I won't comment on what I think of that.)
get your hands dirty, according to The Free Dictionary: (http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/get+hands+dirty) "to involve yourself in all parts of a job, including the parts that are unpleasant, or involve hard, practical work. Unlike other bosses, he's not afraid to get his hands dirty and the men like that in him."
There is another meaning, which definitely includes "demeaning", but does not fit your example.
"Dirty your hands" is defined in Cambridge Dictionaries Online (http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/dirty-your-hands) as "to become involved in something unfair or dishonest"
Example of this usage: "I refuse to dirty my hands by cheating on my income tax; I would feel as though I had demeaned myself."
Infra dig for Infra Dignitatum, in the Latin.
[PREDICATIVE] informal, chiefly British Early 19th century: abbreviation of Latin infra dignitatem 'beneath (one's) dignity'.
- She regarded playing for the Pony Club as deeply infra dig
- It seemed, in that perspective, just a little infra dig to enjoin such praise.
(Oxford Dictionaries)
Likewise, one could slightly rephrase the OP's sentence to
She finally picked up the trash bag and flung it into the waste bin, although she considered it a 9 on her infra dig scale.
For example, consider the following phrase,"What he did was not befitting his stature"
Perhaps also the word "stoop"
stoop /sto͞op/
lower one's moral standards so far as to do something reprehensible.
"Craig wouldn't stoop to thieving"
synonyms: lower oneself, sink, descend, resort
Indignity or beneath ones dignity
"She displayed an indignity by picking up the garbage. ..."
Or an "an undignified act"
