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
Argaven was less kingly, less manly, than he looked at a distance among his courtiers.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
The enthroned Republic from her kinglier throne Spake, and her speech was Cromwell's.
From A Channel Passage and Other Poems Taken from The Collected Poetical Works of Algernon Charles Swinburne—Vol VI by Swinburne, Algernon Charles
As the spectator stands midway between the two busts, at some distance from both, Irving has the larger and the kinglier air, and the face of Astor seems small and set.
From Famous Americans of Recent Times by Parton, James
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 Rolleston, T. W. (Thomas William)
"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
For Afghanistan, that is the kingliest accomplishment of all.
From Time Magazine Archive
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
High hope in Balen’s heart alight Laughed, as from all that clamorous fight He passed and sought not Arthur’s sight, Who fain had found his kingliest knight And made amend for Balen’s wrong.
From The Tale of Balen by Swinburne, Algernon Charles
Read his "Eve of Election":— "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 John Greenleaf Whittier His Life, Genius, and Writings by Kennedy, W. Sloane
"LAMBERT!" roared the troll in a voice that would have shamed the kingliest of lions.
From Abducted to Oz by Evans, Bob
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.
