(usually initial capital letter) Also Excellence. a title of honor given to certain high officials, as governors, ambassadors, and Roman Catholic bishops and archbishops (preceded by his, your, etc.).
(usually initial capital letter) a person so entitled.
(usually initial capital letter) the title of the governor general of Canada while in office.
Usually excellencies. excellent qualities or features.
a title used to address or refer to a high-ranking official, such as an ambassador or governor
RC Church a title of bishops and archbishops in many non-English-speaking countries
1275–1325; Middle English excellencie < Latin excellentia. See excellent, -ency
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In 1922, Jewan Singh & Sons was appointed watchmaker to the governor of the Punjab, His Excellency Sir Edward Maclagan, knight commander of the Most Exalted Order of the Star of India.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 25, 2025
Here, he is formally referred to as: His Excellency, Randy “R Dub!”
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 1, 2025
What we saw last week was a passion for sport that His Excellency has.
From BBC • Sep. 25, 2024
He wrote excitedly to a cardinal in Rome, praising Gutenberg and his pages, which he declared “exceedingly clean and correct in their script, and without error, such as Your Excellency could read effortlessly without glasses.”
From New York Times • Jan. 17, 2024
“Your Excellency, what an honor it is to have you at my little get-together.”
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
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.
