nobility
Americannoun
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a socially or politically privileged class whose titles are conferred by descent or by royal decree
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the state or quality of being morally or spiritually good; dignity
the nobility of his mind
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(in the British Isles) the class of people holding the titles of dukes, marquesses, earls, viscounts, or barons and their feminine equivalents collectively; peerage
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of nobility
1350–1400; Middle English nobilite < Latin nōbilitās. See noble, -ity
Explanation
Nobility refers to a privileged class of people — often receiving hereditary titles — also called the aristocracy. You know the type. They hang around manors and castles, or curry favor at court. In the United states, there is no official class system, so there is no official noble class, or nobility. But nobility is also a synonym for nobleness — elevation of morals, ideals, or behavior. So if you have friends who always behave with generosity, honesty, and integrity, you may be surrounded by nobility — even if you don’t hang out with lords, baronesses, dukes, or ladies.
Vocabulary lists containing nobility
Liberty, Equality, Vocabulary: The French Revolution
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The Articles of Confederation (1777)
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The French Revolution
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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:
The film seems to suggest that we — the audience to this specious display of white-knighting nobility — are monsters who can act just as heinous as the criminals.
From Salon ● Sep. 26, 2026
Even back in 13th century Imperial China, the lengthy talons grown by nobility and the delicately carved brass nail shields which usually guarded them were a symbol of a life unmarred by manual labour.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
In the early 1600s, the Seguso name was added to the Venetian government’s Libro d’Oro, or Golden Book, granting them nobility for their glassmaking.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
When Elle wants something, she figures out a way to get it and comes by her success honestly and with nobility.
From Salon ● Jul. 6, 2026
They had given them to the women of the nobility as favors, and he’d snagged one from the basket as it was passed around.
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
It captures all the nobilities of the sport, in all its splendor, in two minutes flat.
From Time ● Apr. 6, 2015
As a result, moviegoers get a full treatment of the giant-sized nobilities and epic despairs that swirl up from Victorian drama, reflected in the iridescent mirror of fin de siecle Paris.
From Time Magazine Archive
Britain and France had hereditary nobilities; Britain still has a queen.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
The two nobilities now intermarry without apparent hindrance on the score of prejudices, and mingle without any suspicion of class divisions.
From France by Gordon Cochrane Home
It was upon such occasions that he saw, or thought he saw, the inevitable tendency of European cities to emasculate and corrupt the rugged nobilities of mankind.
From Murder Point A Tale of Keewatin by Coningsby Dawson
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.
