noble
Americanadjective
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distinguished by rank or title.
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pertaining to persons so distinguished.
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of, belonging to, or constituting a hereditary class that has special social or political status in a country or state; of or pertaining to the aristocracy.
- Synonyms:
- blue-blooded, patrician, aristocratic, highborn
- Antonyms:
- bourgeois, middle-class, working-class, lower-class, common, lowborn, baseborn
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of an exalted moral or mental character or excellence.
a noble thought.
- Synonyms:
- worthy, estimable, honorable, magnanimous, principled, high-minded, elevated, lofty, meritorious
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admirable in dignity of conception, manner of expression, execution, or composition.
a noble poem.
- Antonyms:
- unrespected, disreputable, undignified
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very impressive or imposing in appearance.
a noble monument.
- Synonyms:
- imperial, regal, impressive, splendid, imposing, magnificent, stately, grand, majestic, lordly
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of an admirably high quality; notably superior; excellent
- Synonyms:
- exceptional, exemplary, outstanding, notable, noteworthy
- Antonyms:
- unexceptional, ordinary, inferior
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famous; illustrious; renowned.
- Synonyms:
- distinguished, celebrated, famed
- Antonyms:
- obscure, unknown, remarkable
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Chemistry. inert; chemically inactive.
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Falconry. (of a hawk) having excellent qualities or abilities.
noun
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nobles
plural
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a person of noble birth or rank; nobleman or noblewoman.
- Synonyms:
- patrician, blue blood, aristocrat, peer
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a former gold coin of England, first issued in 1346 by Edward III, equal to half a mark or 6s. 8d., replaced in 1464 under Edward IV by the rose noble.
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(in Britain) a peer.
adjective
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of or relating to a hereditary class with special social or political status, often derived from a feudal period
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of or characterized by high moral qualities; magnanimous
a noble deed
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having dignity or eminence; illustrious
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grand or imposing; magnificent
a noble avenue of trees
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of superior quality or kind; excellent
a noble strain of horses
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chem
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(of certain elements) chemically unreactive
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(of certain metals, esp copper, silver, and gold) resisting oxidation
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falconry
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designating long-winged falcons that capture their quarry by stooping on it from above Compare ignoble
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designating the type of quarry appropriate to a particular species of falcon
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noun
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a person belonging to a privileged social or political class whose status is usually indicated by a title conferred by sovereign authority or descent
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(in the British Isles) a person holding the title of duke, marquess, earl, viscount, or baron, or a feminine equivalent
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a former Brit gold coin having the value of one third of a pound
Synonym Usage
Noble, high-minded, magnanimous agree in referring to lofty principles and loftiness of mind or spirit. Noble implies a loftiness of character or spirit that scorns the petty, mean, base, or dishonorable: a noble deed. High-minded implies having elevated principles and consistently adhering to them: a high-minded pursuit of legal reforms. Magnanimous suggests greatness of mind or soul, especially as manifested in generosity or in overlooking injuries: magnanimous toward his former enemies.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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noblenessnoun
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overnoblenessnoun
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nonnobleadjective
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overnobleadjective
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pseudonobleadjective
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noblyadverb
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overnoblyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of noble
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English, from Old French, from Latin (g)nōbilis “notable, of high rank,” equivalent to (g)nō-, root of (g)nōscere “to get to know, find out” + -bilis adjective suffix; see origin at know 1, -ble
Explanation
A noble is a titled peer of the realm or an aristocrat. As an adjective, noble describes someone with high or elevated character, or who is impressive in appearance. From feudal times, we have known nobles as the heirs to thrones or as the holders of aristocratic title. British aristocracy, for example, produces many people of various noble titles, including dukes, earls, princes, kings, and queens. As various royal histories tell us, however, many of these nobles in title weren't quite so noble in character.
Vocabulary lists containing noble
"Macbeth" Vocabulary from Act I
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An "August" Assortment: Words Worthy of Honor
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"Beowulf," Vocabulary from the epic poem
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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:
It’s about overly noble characters, their stagy exchanges, the manicured squalor of the poor and, for the rich, an opulence that might have arrived courtesy of Wayfair.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
Conservative shadow housing secretary Katie Lam said it was a "noble aim" to protect UK democracy from foreign influence but changes proposed by the government had not always been produced with "proper care and attention".
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
In the middle of the BioCharger, within the geometric, connected plates of glass, is a Tesla coil, which ionizes the surrounding 12 glass tubes that hold six noble gases, the gases in the earth’s atmosphere.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
The world of “Lanterns” prefers to be bracingly honest about our false assumptions about heroism and whether the people we deem to be noble really are.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026
“It is noble in you to tell me that you have other causes of unhappiness. Is it true?”
From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens
His people are ancient and few, a clan whose kinship with nature left them vulnerable to warring nobles who all but wiped them out.
From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026
"We need a long process of changing the mindset" of the nobles, he said during the enormous funeral of one of them close to the capital, to which 4,000 guests, including atas, were invited.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
In the Middle Ages, William the Conqueror took control of England's land and granted parts of it to loyal nobles, who leased it to others for a fixed term.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
The simile is arresting: modern European proponents of welfare-state liberalism likened to a dying class of 19th-century hereditary nobles, confident in their rightness and desperate to rest.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 5, 2025
Again, I conclude that a prince must respect the nobles but not make himself hated by the people.
From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli
Not so if you confess to streaming military thrillers while other, nobler souls are busy contemplating peace on earth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 18, 2025
The earliest on the program, “Jefferson and Liberty” from 1800, included the verse: “Here strangers from thousand shores/Compell’d by tyranny to roam;/Shall find, amidst abundant stores,/A nobler and a happier home.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 15, 2024
Shakespeare in the Park canceled its Thursday and Friday performances of “Hamlet,” saying ’tis not nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of wretched air.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 7, 2023
It’s ridiculous how entertaining “Air” is given that it’s about shoes, even if it works overtime to persuade you that it’s also about other, nobler truths, too.
From New York Times ● Apr. 4, 2023
The Shaper remains, though now there are nobler courts where he might sing.
From "Grendel" by John Gardner
The book’s hero is an upbeat, morally upright counselor named Ben Frost, who activated the boys’ noblest impulses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
Gold is famously known as the noblest of all metals because it has little or no reaction when encountering other substances; a property that makes it perfect for wedding rings and coins.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 27, 2024
The Chinese philosopher Confucius reputedly said, “By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.”
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 8, 2023
We must face up to the ugliest aspects of our history and also to its noblest and most inspiring words and deeds.
From Salon ● Jun. 1, 2023
“Because almost everyone is acquainted with the silkworm, and because it is the most useful and noblest of all worms and caterpillars, I have here recorded its transformation.”
From "The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian's Art Changed Science" by Joyce Sidman
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.
