noblesse
Britishnoun
-
noble birth or condition
-
the noble class
Etymology
Origin of noblesse
C13: from Old French; see noble
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.
They rode to work in Rolls-Royces and adhered to a Protestant ethic of noblesse oblige.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025
When Pritzker finds himself explaining why he does what he does, he often falls back on the vague language of noblesse oblige—that “we” have a responsibility to “lift up” or “stand up” for “the vulnerable.”
From Slate • Sep. 18, 2025
Given the vast wealth gap between likely patrons and these portrait-subjects, the question creates an inescapable aura of noblesse oblige.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 31, 2023
It has to show a lot of elegance in the singing; there is this noblesse in his blood.
From New York Times • Nov. 13, 2022
Remote cousins and family friends whom mere acquaintanceship invested with a sort of blood obligation noblesse oblige.
From "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner
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.
