aristocracy
Americannoun
-
aristocracies
plural
-
a class of persons holding exceptional rank and privileges, especially the hereditary nobility.
-
a government or state ruled by an aristocracy, elite, or privileged upper class.
-
government by those considered to be the best or most able people in the state.
-
a governing body composed of those considered to be the best or most able people in the state.
-
any class or group considered to be superior, as through education, ability, wealth, or social prestige.
noun
-
a privileged class of people usually of high birth; the nobility
-
such a class as the ruling body of a state
-
government by such a class
-
a state governed by such a class
-
a class of people considered to be outstanding in a sphere of activity
Discover More
Traditionally, the disproportionate concentration of wealth, social status, and political influence in the aristocracy has been resented by the middle class and lower class.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of aristocracy
First recorded in 1555–65; from Middle French aristocratie, from Medieval Latin aristocracia, aristocratia, from Greek aristokratía “rule of the best”; equivalent to aristo- + -cracy
Explanation
A person who's "born to rule" belongs to the ruling class, or aristocracy, and is "noble" just by being in the family line — whether they have done anything noble or not. In an aristocracy, a princess who doesn’t visit sick children or clear land mines is still a princess. "Rule of the best" or "by a privileged class" are 16th-century Latin meanings for aristocracy. There are examples of the "best" coming from ordinary society, no matter who their parents are, but often the aristocracy is made up of families who start ruling and keep the power in the family generation after generation. Kings and queens, princes and princesses, and dukes and earls, are all titles within an aristocracy, though some really hard-working and noble outsiders may earn a spot in the aristocracy too.
Vocabulary lists containing aristocracy
"On Women's Right to Vote" by Susan B. Anthony
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Ancient Greece - Introductory
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
After this, there will be a lot of going back and forth across the Channel; crimes of the aristocracy; Darnay’s own Big Secret revealed; more trials, more imprisonments.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026
“There is a huge crisis of Anglo Jewry,” says Mr. Montefiore, 61, a scion of Anglo-Jewish aristocracy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
He is cast in the Ancelotti mould - Italian football aristocracy, experienced with star players, not one for pressing theories on football.
From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2026
However, Huppert emphasised the social symbolism of a vampire aristocracy that draws its power by feeding on ordinary mortals.
From Barron's ● Feb. 18, 2026
This time the black workers refused to defer to the black aristocracy.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
From this combination a meritocracy emerged, supplanting aristocracies in lands where feudalism had been weakened by progress.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 10, 2026
Our ancestors were fleeing autocracies, aristocracies and they were fleeing the unpredictability of the law that comes from an aristocracy or a dictatorship.
From Salon ● May 18, 2024
Representative government likely has deeper roots than monarchies or aristocracies.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 15, 2022
Men’s Final Four berths, of course, come to basketball aristocracies in Lexington, Ky., or Durham or Chapel Hill, N.C., or, of late, suburban Philadelphia.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 5, 2019
In the Adams formulation, aristocracies were to society as the passions were to the individual personality, permanent fixtures susceptible to disciplined containment and artful channeling, but never altogether removable.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
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.
