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
Robert Brustein, who died last month at the age of 96, was every inch a kingly critic.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 8, 2023
Worn at every coronation since then, it symbolises kingly dignity.
From Reuters ● May 5, 2023
At lunchtime, therefore, those with four pennies—a kingly sum—would wait in line, always long; sometimes though, there wouldn’t be enough bread or milk to go around.
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
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
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 Algernon Charles Swinburne
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
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
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 James Russell Lowell
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
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
Give me your hand, little maiden, That sceptre so pearly white, And I'll envy not the kingliest wand That ever waved in might.
From Poems by Marietta Holley
Authority actually had come into the hands of the kingliest man in England, valiant and prudent, magnanimous and merciful.
From Life of John Milton by Richard Garnett
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
