royal

[ roi-uhl ]
See synonyms for: royalroyalsroyally on Thesaurus.com

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.

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

  2. established or chartered by or existing under the patronage of a sovereign: a royal society.

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

  4. proceeding from or performed by a sovereign: a royal warrant.

  5. appropriate to or befitting a sovereign; magnificent; stately: royal splendor.

  6. (usually initial capital letter)British. in the service of the monarch or of the Commonwealth: Royal Marines; Royal Air Force.

  7. fine; excellent: in royal spirits.

  8. Informal. extreme or persistent; unmitigated: a royal nuisance; a royal pain.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Origin of royal

1
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 regal1, -al1

synonym study For royal

7. See kingly.

Other words for royal

Opposites for royal

Other words from royal

  • roy·al·ly, adverb
  • an·ti·roy·al, adjective
  • non·roy·al, adjective
  • non·roy·al·ly, adverb
  • pre·roy·al, adjective
  • pre·roy·al·ly, adverb
  • pseu·do·roy·al, adjective
  • pseu·do·roy·al·ly, adverb
  • quasi-royal, adjective
  • qua·si-roy·al·ly, adverb

Words that may be confused with royal

Words Nearby royal

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use royal in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for royal

royal

/ (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

  1. being a member of a royal family

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

  3. informal unusually good or impressive; first-rate

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

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

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

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

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

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

  4. 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)

Origin of royal

1
C14: from Old French roial, from Latin rēgālis, fit for a king, from rēx king; compare regal 1

Derived forms of royal

  • royally, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012