dynastic

American  

[dahy-nas-tik, dih-nas-tik] / daɪˈnæs tɪk, dɪˈnæs tɪk /

British also dynastical

adjective

1. of or relating to a dynasty, a sequence of rulers or other powerful or wealthy people, usually from the same family.

   Democracy, by definition, can't prohibit dynastic or corrupt rulers but it offers ways to correct or alter the situation.

   Artifacts found in the Royal Nubian burials at Qustul bear the oldest-known examples of Egyptian dynastic symbols, such as the white crown of Egypt and the falcon.

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Other Word Forms

• antidynastic adjective
• antidynastical adjective
• antidynastically adverb
• dynastically adverb
• nondynastic adjective
• nondynastical adjective
• nondynastically adverb

Etymology

Origin of dynastic

First recorded in 1620–30, for an earlier sense; dynast(y) ( def. ) + -ic ( def. )

Explanation

If something is dynastic, it has to do with rulers or leaders who inherit their position of power. A dynastic business is run by successive generations of the same family. If a country is ruled by a queen whose son will become king after she dies, that country is a dynastic monarchy. And if you know you'll become CEO of your family's trucking company, just like your father and grandmother before you, you can describe your position as dynastic. This word can be defined as "relating to a dynasty," and dynasty goes back to the Greek dynastes, "ruler," and dynasthai, "to have power."

Example Sentences

Built in 1395, the former royal palace is often seen as a symbol of Korean resilience through dynastic collapse, colonial rule and pro-democracy protests.

From Barron's • Mar. 21, 2026

He did so to avoid antagonizing parts of the political and religious establishment that categorically reject hereditary or dynastic succession.

From Salon • Mar. 6, 2026

The front-runner, 60-year-old BNP chairman Tarique Rahman, represents the dynastic politics that many educated Bangladeshis abhor.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 11, 2026

President Lee Jae Myung held an "honour ceremony" for Trump during which he gave the American leader his nation's highest medal and a replica of an ancient Korean dynastic crown.

From BBC • Oct. 30, 2025

The oldest preserved Chinese writing of the late Shang Dynasty consists of religious divination about dynastic affairs, incised into so-called oracle bones.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond