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

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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

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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

Prince Harry is opening up about his and wife Meghan Markle’s unexpected decision earlier this year to move back to the United Kingdom years after their dramatic fallout with the British royal family.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026

It has been seen as a diplomatic bridge between the West and Iran and Sultan Haitham bin Tarik Al Said will be given the full soft power treatment from his royal hosts.

From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026

The royal family member told Alfozan that an artificial-intelligence initiative was being launched in Saudi Arabia and he wanted Alfozan to join it, the filing alleges.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026

In a document filed Sunday, the US Attorney's Office alleged that Alfozan, who had worked at OpenAI since 2025, maintained frequent communications with a member of the Saudi royal family.

From Barron's ● Oct. 19, 2026

She intended to obtain passage to England without having to pay a single kopek, all by impersonating a lady of great wealth and royal relations.

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood

The royals will also join survivors, bereaved parents and other members of the community to mark the anniversary, who will share their personal reflections.

From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026

Prince Harry and Meghan moved from the UK to the United States in 2020, stepping down as working royals in what was an acrimonious departure.

From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026

While he certainly has enemies among the religious and royals he has suppressed or imprisoned, he controls the kingdom’s military.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2026

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

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

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Related Words

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

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