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
His pizzazz was a large measure of his appeal, along with his manufactured image as a shrewd businessman with a kingly touch and infallible judgment.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 4, 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
He waved the sword over his head, the borrowed blade that Magister Illyrio had given him to make him seem more kingly.
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
And deeper joy, serener faith, Spring forth the golden crowns to grasp, While death, the monarch, gently lay’th Upon their brows a kinglier clasp.
From The Poets and Poetry of Cecil County, Maryland by Various
Thy cousin, the trout, in his purple and gold with crimson spots, wears a more splendid armour than thy russet and silver mottled with black, but thine is the kinglier nature.
From Little Rivers; a book of essays in profitable idleness by Henry Van Dyke
He can be gentle as a bride, While none can rule with kinglier pride; Calm to hear, and wise to prove, Yet gay as lark in soaring love.
From Thomas Davis, Selections from his Prose and Poetry by T. W. (Thomas William) Rolleston
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 Henry Morley
Then he waved his hand With a kinglier watch-word, "We are as near To heaven, my lads, by sea as by land!"
From Collected Poems Volume Two by Alfred Noyes
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
He was the kingliest, goodliest knight That ever England roved, The truest lover of sinful man That ever woman loved.
From Songs and Satires by Edgar Lee Masters
As an Englishman I should say that he felt the weight of public opinion behind him all the while, without which in these days the kingliest nature must miss something of gravity.
From Sir John Constantine Memoirs of His Adventures At Home and Abroad and Particularly in the Island of Corsica: Beginning with the Year 1756 by Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch
Not lightly fall Beyond recall The written scrolls a breath can float: The crowning fact, The kingliest act Of freedom is the freeman's vote.
From The Galaxy, April, 1877 Vol. XXIII.—April, 1877.—No. 4. by Various
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