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.

---

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

---

aristocracy Cultural  

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

---

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

Upon his arrival in London, Mai became something of a celebrity among the aristocracy, and was welcomed by King George III.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 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

Describing himself as a Catholic from the impoverished aristocracy and an entrepreneur, he says it would offend against both his ethics and his business sense to exclude people from the banquets.

From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2026

But “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” is less concerned about the aristocracy than what life is like for smallfolk like Dunk, an orphan who spent his early childhood scraping by in Flea Bottom.

From Salon ● Jan. 17, 2026

“Yes, it’s been home to aristocracy since the 1700s.”

From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

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

This level of self-regard in a writer and thinker as justifiably exalted as Smith may explain why our nation is turning on reading: aristocracies breed resentment among the proles.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2025

Our ancestors were fleeing autocracies, aristocracies and they were fleeing the unpredictability of the law that comes from an aristocracy or a dictatorship.

From Salon ● May 18, 2024

Representative government likely has deeper roots than monarchies or aristocracies.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 15, 2022

Their many societies had developed rigid social and economic class structures in which wealth and power were concentrated among monarchies, aristocracies, and the Catholic Church.

From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

Related Words

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