stately
Americanadjective
-
majestic; imposing in magnificence, elegance, etc..
a stately home.
adverb
adjective
adverb
Other Word Forms
- stateliness noun
Etymology
Origin of stately
First recorded in 1350–1400, stately is from the Middle English word statly. See state, -ly
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.
A moment later, both vehicles drove off at a stately pace, as if nothing had happened.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 30, 2026
Looming over the colorless town is its hulking circa-1385 monastery, extended in convent courtyards and stately chapels with lofty naves, offering dazzling displays of stained glass.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026
Someone dies, and then their friends and family, appropriately dressed in black, gather in a stately room while an elderly lawyer reads a list of who gets what.
From Salon • Mar. 24, 2026
From there she strikes out into the countryside in a suitably stately carriage.
From Barron's • Feb. 18, 2026
Tall and stately, a beauty with black curls, Dolley Madison had become famous for her fashionable outfits—exotic turbans and low-cut dresses in the French style.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
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.
