royal

American  

[roi-uhl] / ˈrɔɪ əl /

adjective

1. of or relating to a king, queen, or other sovereign.

   royal power; a royal palace.

2. descended from or related to a king or line of kings.

   a royal prince.

3. noting or having the rank of a king or queen.

4. established or chartered by or existing under the patronage of a sovereign.

   a royal society.

5. (initial capital letter) serving or subject to a king, queen, or other sovereign.

6. proceeding from or performed by a sovereign.

   a royal warrant.

7. appropriate to or befitting a sovereign; magnificent; stately.

   royal splendor.

   Synonyms:

   majestic

   Antonyms:

   servile

8. (usually initial capital letter) in the service of the monarch or of the Commonwealth.

   Royal Marines; Royal Air Force.

9. fine; excellent.

   in royal spirits.

10. Informal. extreme or persistent; unmitigated.

    a royal nuisance; a royal pain.

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noun

• royals
  plural

1. Nautical. a sail set on a royal mast.

2. Informal. a royal person; member of the royalty.

3. Chiefly British. Usually royals. a member of England's royal family.

4. a size of printing paper, 20 × 25 inches (51 × 64 centimeters).

5. a size of writing paper, 19 × 24 inches (48 × 61 centimeters).

6. Numismatics. any of various former coins, as the real or ryal.

royal British  

/ ˈrɔɪəl /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or befitting a king, queen, or other monarch; regal

2. (prenominal; often capital) established, chartered by, under the patronage or in the service of royalty

   the Royal Society of St George

3. being a member of a royal family

4. above the usual or normal in standing, size, quality, etc

5. informal unusually good or impressive; first-rate

6. nautical just above the topgallant (in the phrase royal mast )

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noun

1. informal (sometimes capital) a member of a royal family

2. Also called: royal stag. a stag with antlers having 12 or more branches

3. nautical a sail set next above the topgallant, on a royal mast

4. a size of printing paper, 20 by 25 inches

5. Also called: small royal. a size of writing paper, 19 by 24 inches

6. any of various book sizes, esp 6 1/ 4 by 10 inches ( royal octavo ), 6 3/ 4 by 10 1/ 4 inches ( super royal octavo ), and (chiefly Brit) 10 by 12 1/ 2 inches ( royal quarto ) and 10 1/ 4 by 13 1/ 2 inches ( super royal quarto )

Synonym Usage

See kingly.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• antiroyal
  adjective
• nonroyal
  adjective
• preroyal
  adjective
• pseudoroyal
  adjective
• quasi-royal
  adjective
• nonroyally
  adverb
• preroyally
  adverb
• pseudoroyally
  adverb
• quasi-royally
  adverb
• royally
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• royals
  plural

Etymology

Origin of royal

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin rēgālis “kingly,” equivalent to rēg- (stem of rēx ) “king” + -ālis adjective suffix; see regal ¹, -al ¹

Explanation

Your highness! Anything royal has to do with a king or queen. The official announcement a queen makes is a royal declaration. Unofficially, royal can mean fit for a king or queen, like a royal welcome with cake and balloons. Queen Elizabeth's corgis could be called the royal dogs, and the people who work at Buckingham Palace are the royal staff. Queen Elizabeth herself is royal — when royal describes a person it means someone who's a queen or king or belongs to a monarch's family. You can also use it sarcastically by saying someone’s a royal pain. No royalty necessary.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

royal royals

But a royal source said the King's financial support for his brother should not be directed towards paying for the judicial review that Mountbatten-Windsor is seeking.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

Perry welcomed Meghan and Harry into the home in 2020 after they stepped down from their royal duties.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026

Close members of the royal family said Oyo had left a young son and a will with instructions that the child should be next on the throne.

From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026

However, the royal succession committee ignored her wishes, insisting their selection process was conducted in accordance with Tooro customs and traditions.

From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026

They didn’t get little news, but they got big news, and a royal baby was big news.

From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff

Erling Haaland and his teammates will be fine, as will the Abu Dhabi royals, although whatever remains of the club’s pre-2008 Mancunian fanbase is likely to suffer bitterly.

From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026

In Antigua and Barbuda, a state named after its two main tropical islands, the royals will attend a parade to mark 45 years of independence.

From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026

Modern British royals have expressed remorse for the brutal slave trade that enriched their ancestors, but like the UK government have not issued an official apology for the slave trade.

From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026

The royals are depicted as the type of children who come round, break your toys and then disappear, in what might be an extended metaphor for how he saw Diana's story.

From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026

She waves her hands at massive, gold-framed portraits of our many royals, from the very first ruler of Orléans, Queen Marjorie, all the way down to the current queen, Celeste.

From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton

Related Words

• aristocratic
• dignified
• illustrious
• imperial
• magnificent
• noble
• stately