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

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

He is cast in the Ancelotti mould - Italian football aristocracy, experienced with star players, not one for pressing theories on football.

From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2026

Whatever approach Xi takes, he wouldn’t be able to call upon officers with Zhang’s unique stature as a combat veteran and member of China’s red aristocracy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 8, 2026

However, Huppert emphasised the social symbolism of a vampire aristocracy that draws its power by feeding on ordinary mortals.

From Barron's ● Feb. 18, 2026

His face was noble; a face sculpted from an aggrieved aristocracy that was bleeding out through weak tributaries in the long delta of the twentieth century.

From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy

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

Men’s Final Four berths, of course, come to basketball aristocracies in Lexington, Ky., or Durham or Chapel Hill, N.C., or, of late, suburban Philadelphia.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 5, 2019

Nations ruled by aristocracies were more impulsive, spendthrift and violent.

From Salon ● Jun. 17, 2012

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