honorary

adjective

hon·or·ary | \ˈä-nə-ˌrer-ē

Definition of honorary

1a : having or conferring distinction an honorary engineering society

b : commemorative an honorary plaque

2 : dependent on honor or a keen sense of ethical conduct for fulfillment an honorary obligation

3a : conferred or elected in recognition of achievement or service without the usual prerequisites or obligations an honorary degree an honorary member

b : unpaid, voluntary an honorary chairman

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Examples of honorary in a Sentence

He was awarded an honorary degree. He's an honorary member of the club. He is the honorary president of the commission.

Recent Examples on the Web

Cheryl became an honorary serpent and coupled up with Toni, while legally emancipating herself from her mother and taking control of Thistlehouse. — Jessica Radloff, Glamour, "Here's What's Going to Happen This Season of Riverdale," 10 Oct. 2018 The end of season 2 sees some relief for Cheryl, however, as she is made an honorary Serpent, getting her own red Serpent jacket. — Carolyn Twersky, Seventeen, "Everything That Happened On "Riverdale" Season 2," 8 Oct. 2018 As the series continues, Legend makes guest appearances as an honorary headband commentator. — Emily Wang, Allure, "Chrissy Teigen's "Headband of the Day" Is My Favorite Thing on Instagram," 10 Aug. 2018 And, this wasn't some honorary degree that universities occassionally give to celebrities. — Matt Young, Houston Chronicle, "Former Rockets star Yao Ming fulfills promise, gets college degree," 13 July 2018 Six days after coach Jim Harbaugh asked Webber to be an honorary Michigan football captain for the upcoming season, Rose and Webber have exchanged jabs yet again. — Jenna West, SI.com, "Jalen Rose Calls Out Chris Webber as Fab Five Beef Heats Up Again," 28 June 2018 The University System of Maryland joins other higher education institutions in revoking Cosby’s honorary degrees. — Lauren Lumpkin, baltimoresun.com, "Three Maryland universities to revoke Bill Cosby's honorary degrees," 22 June 2018 One day in 2015, Stony Brook awarded honorary doctorates to Mr. Wang and to the singer Billy Joel. — James R. Hagerty, WSJ, "Charles Wang Found Wealth and Controversy in Computer Industry," 26 Oct. 2018 Never really graduated and then got an honorary doctorate. — Eric Johnson, Recode, "Full Q&A: ‘Will & Grace’ co-star Sean Hayes on Recode Decode," 22 Oct. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'honorary.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.