adjective
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generous or lavish
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of, belonging to, or characteristic of a prince
adverb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of princely
Explanation
Something princely is controlled by or suits a prince, like a princely territory or a princely velvet cape. If a prince (a male royal, often the son of a king or queen) rules certain areas, they are princely territories. And if a prince wears certain clothes, you could say he sports a princely outfit. You can also use this adjective to mean "fancy" or "opulent," so you might describe the princely furnishings in your elegant hotel room or the princely offerings on the menu at a four-star restaurant.
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:
They had assiduously saved the cash that came in from gifts and summer jobs, and it had compounded over time to reach a princely sum.
From MarketWatch ● May 5, 2026
The then town council cobbled together the money to buy the model for the "princely sum of £3,000", he added.
From BBC ● Apr. 12, 2026
He will then visit the princely palace, the official residence of the Grimaldi dynasty since the 13th century, for a private meeting with Prince Albert.
From Barron's ● Mar. 25, 2026
What quickly became nonnegotiable was the fact that no princely state could go rogue and assert its own independence.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 30, 2026
He had told everyone that his father was the igwe of his hometown, and had sent him to Lagos to live with an uncle until he turned twenty-one, to avoid the pressures of princely life.
From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
For one fleeting night a princelier nature captures us, and we become as great as our aspirations.
From The World I Live In by Keller, Helen
But I am of a greater and princelier house than the Sons of the Cat.
From Salute to Adventurers by Buchan, John
Further to add to the complexity, he loved his liberty; he was princelier free; he had more subjects, more slaves; he ruled arrogantly in the world of women; he was more himself.
From The Egoist by Meredith, George
Beverly, boy!—on his white steed, I ween, A princelier presence has never been seen; And as yonder he lies, from the groups all apart, I bow to him loyally,—bow with my heart.
From Beechenbrook A Rhyme of the War by Preston, Margaret J.
Nay, if we compare Pope to some of the later writers who have wrung still princelier rewards from fortune, the result is not unfavourable.
From Hours in a Library, Volume I. (of III.) by Stephen, Leslie, Sir
He was at his princeliest estate—never would he be handsomer.
From Rose of Dutcher's Coolly by Garland, Hamlin
Yes; by your pleasure, Poetry is Thought, in princeliest attire, Treading a measure.
From A Book of Epigrams by Various
The shade of the princeliest hero dwelling there the 1 Georg. lib. i.
From The Destiny of the Soul A Critical History of the Doctrine of a Future Life by Alger, William Rounseville
Madam," said the professor, with his princeliest smile, "the true Art cannot fail.
From Strictly business: more stories of the four million by Henry, O.
Harkness, true to his boast, had found quite the straightest, princeliest balsam in the nearby woods.
From Red-Robin by Richards, Harriet Roosevelt
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.
