imperial

1 of 2

adjective

im·pe·ri·al im-ˈpir-ē-əl

Synonyms of imperial next

: of, relating to, befitting, or suggestive of an empire or an emperor

b(1)

: of or relating to the United Kingdom as distinguished from the constituent parts

(2)

: of or relating to the Commonwealth of Nations and British Empire

: sovereign

: regal, imperious

: of superior or unusual size or excellence

sometimes Imperial : having a full body and a higher-than-average percentage of alcohol

an imperial stout

: belonging to the official British series of weights and measures see Weights and Measures Table

imperially

im-ˈpir-ē-ə-lē

adverb

imperial

2 of 2

noun

Imperial : an adherent or soldier of the Holy Roman emperor

: emperor

: a pointed beard growing below the lower lip

: something of unusual size or excellence

Examples of imperial in a Sentence

Adjective a member of the imperial family envisioned an imperial city that would rival the capitals of Europe for beauty and magnificence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

The imaginative zeal of that film was liberated by its fictional hero, Maximus, and by his feud with the imperial villain, Commodus, whereas Phoenix’s Napoleon must do double duty. —

Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 22 Nov. 2023 As foreign minister from 2007 to 2009 and from 2010 to 2013, Mr. Schwarzenberg was a committed Atlanticist and European who opposed Russian imperial ambitions. —

Adam Nossiter, New York Times, 19 Nov. 2023 Rights groups regularly say anti-LGBTQ laws are not African but were imposed by former imperial powers. —

Reuters, NBC News, 5 Oct. 2023 Garden gazing balls by Sula Bermúdez-Silverman are grasped by the upright claws of an imperial eagle, the spheres filled with homey substances like hair gel and studded with effete fragments of colonial treasure — bits of coral or silver sugar tongs. —

Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 3 Oct. 2023 The imperial stout base was first aged in bourbon barrels for a year and then transferred to Ruby Port barrels for a year. —

Em Sauter, Forbes, 13 Nov. 2023 Within eight years, the country was turning its imperial ambitions to territories beyond the mainland — resulting in a bloody war in the Philippines and colonial rule that continues to this day in Puerto Rico and Guam. —

Carolina A. Miranda, Los Angeles Times, 11 Nov. 2023 This message built on a traditional myth from Russian imperial history, in which Ukrainians repeatedly betrayed Russia by conspiring with Russia’s enemies and fighting for independence. —

Foreign Affairs, 10 Nov. 2023 Keep your fingers crossed the VIPs don’t down all the West Coast IPA, brewed in collaboration with Cerebral, or the barrel-aged rye imperial stouts. —

Olivia McCormack, Washington Post, 9 Nov. 2023

Noun

Crab imperial is a dish featuring lump crab in its purest form, enhanced only by a light imperial sauce, without the additional binders used to make crab cakes. —

Southern Living Test Kitchen, Southern Living, 8 July 2023 While crab cakes might be more widely served today, crab imperial will always be a great way to showcase fresh crabmeat. —

Southern Living Test Kitchen, Southern Living, 8 July 2023 The Quechan Tribe has successfully fought mining on and near sacred lands on BLM lands north of their current tribal lands in Imperial County, California. —

Debra Utacia Krol, The Arizona Republic, 26 Apr. 2023 Charles will wear St Edward's Crown and the Imperial State Crown, while Camila will wear Queen Mary's Crown. —

Chelsey Sanchez, Harper's BAZAAR, 21 Apr. 2023 The acquisition also adds a central Alabama distribution center to Imperial’s network. —

William Thornton | Wthornton@al.com, al, 20 Apr. 2023 The postponement does not apply to residents and businesses in seven counties: Imperial, Kern, Lassen, Modoc, Plumas, Shasta and Sierra. —

Jessica Flores, San Francisco Chronicle, 17 Apr. 2023 The Imperial State Crown features four pearls believed to be from the personal collection of Queen Elizabeth I. 13. —

Janine Henni, Peoplemag, 14 Apr. 2023 That would hit California farmers in places such as the Imperial Valley - who suck up a lot of the river and have rights to it that predate cities - particularly hard. —

Joshua Partlow, Anchorage Daily News, 12 Apr. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'imperial.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English imperial, emperiall, borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French emperial, imperiall, borrowed from Latin imperiālis "of the Roman emperor," from imperium "supreme administrative authority, power exercised by a Roman emperor" + -ālis -al entry 1 — more at empire

Noun

derivative of imperial entry 1, probably after Middle French imperiaux (plural); (sense 3) translation of French impériale

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun

circa 1524, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of imperial was in the 14th century

See more words from the same century