aristocratic
Americanadjective
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of or relating to government by an aristocracy.
-
belonging to or favoring the aristocracy.
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characteristic of an aristocrat; having the manners, values, or qualities associated with the aristocracy.
aristocratic bearing; aristocratic snobbishness.
adjective
-
relating to or characteristic of aristocracy or an aristocrat
-
elegant or stylish in appearance and behaviour
Other Word Forms
- antiaristocratic adjective
- antiaristocratical adjective
- antiaristocratically adverb
- aristocratically adverb
- aristocraticalness noun
- aristocraticness noun
- nonaristocratic adjective
- nonaristocratical adjective
- nonaristocratically adverb
- proaristocratic adjective
- pseudoaristocratic adjective
- pseudoaristocratical adjective
- pseudoaristocratically adverb
- unaristocratic adjective
- unaristocratically adverb
Etymology
Origin of aristocratic
First recorded in 1595–1605; from Greek aristokratikós “pertaining to aristocracy,” from aristokrat(ía) “rule of the best” ( aristocracy ) + -ikos -ic
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.
David embraced aristocratic country life and distrusted outsiders; Sydney enjoyed London, music and company.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026
It's believed that he was not only aristocratic but that he had royal lineage.
From BBC • Mar. 1, 2026
The afterglow of aristocratic grace, the poet noted, was obscured by the “rising tide of democracy, which invades and levels all things.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 15, 2026
Tempering democratic rhetoric with aristocratic restraint, he rises above the divisions of debate to deliver the funeral oration when Athens buries its dead sons in the war’s first winter.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025
They knew every character and every line and had learned how to swoon like aristocratic maidens.
From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers
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.
