kingly
Americanadjective
adverb
adjective
-
appropriate to a king; majestic
-
royal
adverb
Synonym Usage
Kingly, regal, royal refer to that which is closely associated with a king, or is suitable for one. What is kingly may either belong to a king, or be befitting, worthy of, or like a king: a kingly presence, appearance, graciousness. Regal is especially applied to the office of kingship or the outward manifestations of grandeur and majesty: regal authority, bearing, splendor, munificence. Royal is applied especially to what pertains to or is associated with the person of a monarch: the royal family, word, robes, salute; a royal residence.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of kingly
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at king, -ly
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.
See Examples For:
A purchase is theoretically possible and has historic precedents—although expanding one’s territory with gold or other payments has become rarer in modern times as nation states replaced empires and kingly realms.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 7, 2026
Later they turn to kingly and materialistic protections against their wandering.
From Salon ● Mar. 31, 2024
Worn at every coronation since then, it symbolises kingly dignity.
From Reuters ● May 5, 2023
Some of the lack of enthusiasm might be attributable to the fact that, at 74, Charles has spent the bulk of his life awaiting the kingly role that passed to him upon Elizabeth’s death.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 3, 2023
Denethor looked indeed much more like a great wizard than Gandalf did, more kingly, beautiful, and powerful; and older.
From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien
But they fail not, the kinglier breed, Who starry diadems attain; To dungeon, axe, and stake succeed Heirs of the old heroic strain.
From The Complete Poetical Works of James Russell Lowell by Lowell, James Russell
But they fail not, the kinglier breed, Who starry diadems attain; To dungeon, axe, and stake succeed Heirs of the old heroic strain.
From Poems of James Russell Lowell With biographical sketch by Nathan Haskell Dole by Lowell, James Russell
"Ah, wait," said Jean-aux-Choux—"wait till you have seen him on a battle-front, and you will be sure that, for all his faults, there never was a more manly man or a kinglier king!"
From The White Plumes of Navarre A Romance of the Wars of Religion by Crockett, S. R. (Samuel Rutherford)
Or is it the rage of stark Edward; the base Unkingly revenge on a kinglier race; The wrong idly wrought on the patriot dead; The dark castle of doom; the scorn-diadem’d head?
From The Visions of England Lyrics on leading men and events in English History by Morley, Henry
Had he sentHis hundred thousand kernes to yonder steepAnd rolled its boulders down, and built a moleTo fence my laden ships from spring-tide surge,Far kinglier pattern had he shown, and givenMore solace to the land.”
From The Legends of Saint Patrick by De Vere, Aubrey
In soliloquy and song, in bantering bawdry and scalp-tingling rhetoric, in the kingliest English and in tender or rough translation, they speak to man from mankind's heart.
From Time Magazine Archive
For Afghanistan, that is the kingliest accomplishment of all.
From Time Magazine Archive
Even that I hold the kingliest point of all, To brook afflictions well: and by how much The more his state and tottering empire sags, To fix so much the faster foot on ground.
From The Growth of English Drama by Wynne, Arnold
The kingliest Abbey in all Christian lands, The lordliest, loftiest minster ever built To Holy Peter in our English isle!
From Queen Mary and Harold by Tennyson, Alfred Tennyson, Baron
Planets are thy jewels, Stars thy forehead-gems, Set like sapphires gleaming In kingliest anadems; Even the great gold Sun-God, Blazing through the sky, Serves thee but for crest-stone, Jai, jai!
From Indian Poetry Containing "The Indian Song of Songs," from the Sanskrit of the Gîta Govinda of Jayadeva, Two books from "The Iliad Of India" (Mahábhárata), "Proverbial Wisdom" from the Shlokas of the Hitopadesa, and other Oriental Poems. by Arnold, Edwin, Sir
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.
