stately
Americanadjective
-
majestic; imposing in magnificence, elegance, etc..
a stately home.
adverb
adjective
adverb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of stately
First recorded in 1350–1400, stately is from the Middle English word statly. See state, -ly
Explanation
To be stately is to appear noble and impressive, almost in a larger than life kind of way. You may encounter a stately gentleman or a stately statue. If you do, take a little bow. There are a few meanings of stately, but they both refer to people and things that have an impressive bearing. The first meaning has to do with nobility and class. A ceremony honoring a prince is stately, and the music and dress surrounding such events are stately. Stately things convey sophistication and regality. Also, stately can mean statuesque. Someone with great posture and an impressive physique is stately, almost as if they were made by a sculptor.
Vocabulary lists containing stately
"The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe
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An "August" Assortment: Words Worthy of Honor
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Bob Dylan Wins Nobel Prize in Literature
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
After the deaths of their parents, the aging bluebloods holed up in their stately Harlem rowhouse, once a picture of Gilded Age polish, and became a public curiosity.
From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2026
The book also compared the UK to a "rambling stately home" in which the power was only on in some rooms.
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026
The stately foyer, adorned with granite, murals and statuary, would be kept intact and open to all.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 2026
“From arrival, the stately facade, dramatic architectural lines, and sweeping sight lines create a striking first impression.”
From MarketWatch ● May 19, 2026
A band of orange and yellow ignited the sky, glorious and unexpected, as spectacular as fireworks, but changing at a stately, barely perceptible pace.
From "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld
Tharp’s “In the Room” was sheer exuberance, Nearly four decades later, Tharp hardly seems to have slowed down her dance, but ”Aquas” does have a statelier sheen.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 14, 2025
Then the crowd was asked to move out of the way as new paths were cut, and the women’s wear appeared at a steadier, statelier pace.
From New York Times ● Mar. 11, 2022
The pace of their music becomes statelier, the lyrics more universal, the production glossier.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 14, 2011
He put them on the runway at the Jeu de Paume — a contemporary art museum and one of this city’s statelier locations for a fashion show.
From Washington Post
Mr. Bumpkin himself in his ordinary costume would be no more out of place in my Lord Mayor’s state carriage than Mrs. Bumpkin wielding the Queen’s English in its statelier and more fashionable adornment.
From The Humourous Story of Farmer Bumpkin's Lawsuit by Harris, Richard
It supplanted some of the city’s stateliest mansions with corporate palaces in blue glass and bronze.
From New York Times ● Apr. 22, 2020
Alfred, Lord Tennyson, called the result “the stateliest measure ever moulded by the lips of man.”
From The New Yorker ● Oct. 8, 2018
Indian Village is an historic development just to the west of the neighborhood, and it includes some of the largest, stateliest residences in the city.
From BusinessWeek ● Sep. 2, 2014
“The monument is appalling—in bad taste and in a very strategic position,” on Mexico City's stateliest avenue, near statues of Gandhi and Winston Churchill.
From Slate ● Jan. 30, 2013
Yet I'll warrant that the famous goose preened herself alongside of the most gorgeous peacock in the barnyard; accounted herself the equal of the stateliest swans.
From Jessamine A Novel by Harland, Marion
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
