nobility

[ noh-bil-i-tee ]
See synonyms for nobility on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural no·bil·i·ties.
  1. the noble class or the body of nobles in a country.

  2. (in Britain) the peerage.

  1. the state or quality of being noble.

  2. nobleness of mind, character, or spirit; exalted moral excellence.

  3. grandeur or magnificence.

  4. noble birth or rank.

Origin of nobility

1
1350–1400; Middle English nobilite<Latin nōbilitās.See noble, -ity

Other words from nobility

  • non·no·bil·i·ty, noun

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

How to use nobility in a sentence

  • The insufficiency of merely setting nobilities down on paper is finished.

    Carry On | Coningsby Dawson
  • Our Styrian nobility is not what it was; no, the nobilities will soon have to go too.

    The Last Miracle | M. P. Shiel
  • Men were rediscovering themselves, their own forgotten nobilities, the latent nobilities in all men.

    The Glory of the Trenches | Coningsby Dawson
  • What am I to say for your kindness in holding a torch of this kind (perfumed for the 'nobilities') between the wind and my poems?

  • There was a reigning king present—a tall, elderly man with a long white beard—half the nobilities of Europe were represented.

    Chance in Chains | Cyril Arthur Edward Ranger Gull

British Dictionary definitions for nobility

nobility

/ (nəʊˈbɪlɪtɪ) /


nounplural -ties
  1. a socially or politically privileged class whose titles are conferred by descent or by royal decree

  2. the state or quality of being morally or spiritually good; dignity: the nobility of his mind

  1. (in the British Isles) the class of people holding the titles of dukes, marquesses, earls, viscounts, or barons and their feminine equivalents collectively; peerage

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