aristocracy

American  

[ar-uh-stok-ruh-see] / ˌær əˈstɒk rə si /

noun

aristocracies plural

1. a class of persons holding exceptional rank and privileges, especially the hereditary nobility.

2. a government or state ruled by an aristocracy, elite, or privileged upper class.

3. government by those considered to be the best or most able people in the state.

4. a governing body composed of those considered to be the best or most able people in the state.

5. any class or group considered to be superior, as through education, ability, wealth, or social prestige.

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aristocracy British  

/ ˌærɪˈstɒkrəsɪ /

noun

1. a privileged class of people usually of high birth; the nobility

2. such a class as the ruling body of a state

3. government by such a class

4. a state governed by such a class

5. a class of people considered to be outstanding in a sphere of activity

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aristocracy Cultural  

1. A privileged, primarily hereditary ruling class, or a form of government controlled by such an elite.

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Discover More

Traditionally, the disproportionate concentration of wealth, social status, and political influence in the aristocracy has been resented by the middle class and lower class.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• antiaristocracy
  adjective
• proaristocracy
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• aristocracies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of aristocracy

First recorded in 1555–65; from Middle French aristocratie, from Medieval Latin aristocracia, aristocratia, from Greek aristokratía “rule of the best”; equivalent to aristo- + -cracy

Explanation

A person who's "born to rule" belongs to the ruling class, or aristocracy, and is "noble" just by being in the family line — whether they have done anything noble or not. In an aristocracy, a princess who doesn’t visit sick children or clear land mines is still a princess. "Rule of the best" or "by a privileged class" are 16th-century Latin meanings for aristocracy. There are examples of the "best" coming from ordinary society, no matter who their parents are, but often the aristocracy is made up of families who start ruling and keep the power in the family generation after generation. Kings and queens, princes and princesses, and dukes and earls, are all titles within an aristocracy, though some really hard-working and noble outsiders may earn a spot in the aristocracy too.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

aristocracy aristocracies

One of the signatories on the documents was a professional polo player - apt given that Dame Jilly was known for writing about polo-playing members of the aristocracy.

From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026

Ms. Allen, a professor at Harvard, claims to have discovered a secret impresario of radical political thinking in the highest reaches of the British aristocracy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026

Her mother, the Dutch baroness Ella Van Heemstra, had authentic aristocracy, but was also “a one-woman panzer division.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026

Dior designer Jonathan Anderson delivered his vision Wednesday of "today's aristocracy" in his second menswear show for the brand in Paris, mixing new gender-mixed creations with house symbols.

From Barron's ● Jan. 21, 2026

Here I think I should remind you that my family is long-established in rather the upper echelons of the British aristocracy.

From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein

From this combination a meritocracy emerged, supplanting aristocracies in lands where feudalism had been weakened by progress.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 10, 2026

South could flourish despite the historical baggage of the American Revolution’s break from the Old World and its attendant monarchies and aristocracies.

From Salon ● Nov. 10, 2024

Representative government likely has deeper roots than monarchies or aristocracies.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 15, 2022

As Wooldridge says, Enlightenment thinkers, aiming to match “talent to opportunity and knowledge to power,” stressed the difference between natural aristocracies of talents and artificial aristocracies of breeding and inheritance.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 6, 2021

In the Adams formulation, aristocracies were to society as the passions were to the individual personality, permanent fixtures susceptible to disciplined containment and artful channeling, but never altogether removable.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

Related Words

• elite
• gentility
• gentry
• nobility
• upper class
• upper crust