as in exclusive
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1
as in aristocracy
individuals carefully selected as being the best of a class
the winners of this science award represent the elite of our high schools
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in nobility
the highest class in a society
the country's elite owned or controlled most of the wealth
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of elite
Emily Hemendinger, The Conversation, 13 Feb. 2026
Fort Bragg is home to the Army's Special Operations Command and Delta Force, the elite special forces unit that reportedly executed the raid.
—Bart Jansen, USA Today, 13 Feb. 2026
Evandro Cruz Silva, The Dial, 10 Feb. 2026
Filmed in black and white with a runtime lasting a little more than two hours, The Great Dictator ranks among the elite of Chaplin’s 81 films and is considered his most important satirical and cultural work.
—Ilana Gordon, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for elite
Adjective
The distinctive lifestyle of elite athletes can create a hotbed for eating disorders and disordered eating, meaning restrictive, compulsive, irregular or inflexible eating patterns, all of which can occur on a spectrum.
—Emily Hemendinger, The Conversation, 13 Feb. 2026
Fort Bragg is home to the Army's Special Operations Command and Delta Force, the elite special forces unit that reportedly executed the raid.
—Bart Jansen, USA Today, 13 Feb. 2026
Noun
It was made possible by a strategic partnership with local elites, especially the armed forces, who already held considerable political influence in the Andean countries.
—Evandro Cruz Silva, The Dial, 10 Feb. 2026
Filmed in black and white with a runtime lasting a little more than two hours, The Great Dictator ranks among the elite of Chaplin’s 81 films and is considered his most important satirical and cultural work.
—Ilana Gordon, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for elite
Recent Examples of Synonyms for elite
Adjective
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For golf enthusiasts, this hotel offers exclusive access to Tierra del Sol, an 18-hole course designed by Robert Trent Jones II.—
José Cantillo Ferrer,
Condé Nast Traveler,
15 Feb. 2026
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Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.—
Rohan Nadkarni,
NBC news,
14 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Once the preserve of European aristocracy, the Romanée-Conti is now sought out by multi-millionaires at auction.—
Pin Yen Tan 9 min ago,
CNN Money,
6 Feb. 2026
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Quick bios have always played up Newsom’s close relationship (and business ties) with the heirs to the Getty oil fortune and links to San Francisco’s political aristocracy.—
Deputy Managing Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Sophie is wearing the dress of nobility.—
Carly Thomas,
HollywoodReporter,
30 Jan. 2026
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Other camellia species were noted and grown for their flowers gracing gardens of temples and nobility.—
Dawn Pettinelli,
Hartford Courant,
18 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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The spa also includes hairdressing and nail care services, with special treatments for brides.—
José Cantillo Ferrer,
Condé Nast Traveler,
15 Feb. 2026
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These special beings unite to try and discover their true evolutionary purpose while being watched and hunted by a dark group called the Whispers.—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
14 Feb. 2026
Noun
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And if your fourth line is Horvat between Brad Marchand and Sam Reinhart, with Bennett — the Conn Smythe Trophy winner last spring — as the 13th forward sprinkled in with some shifts, well, that’s a new definition of depth at best-on-best.—
Pierre LeBrun,
New York Times,
12 Feb. 2026
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The two most notable team stats were points in the paint, where the Aztecs scored 52 points; and turnovers, where the visitors committed six while forcing 22, both season bests.—
Mark Zeigler,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The nobles and gentry—the billionaires of Tudor England—made fortunes from the reclaimed monastery lands and created a myth of Henry’s military strength and English pride.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Oct. 2025
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Parker will play Mary Washington, George’s strong willed mother, while Rodgers will play Sally Cary, the charming beauty of the Virginia gentry who first sees his potential.—
Alex Ritman,
Variety,
5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Without better reporting, lawmakers and analysts will have to act with incomplete knowledge, essentially guessing effective tax rates based on limited and sometimes misleading reporting.—
Howard Gleckman,
Forbes.com,
19 Sep. 2025
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By better understanding how the AAC organizes vocal output in budgerigars, researchers hope to gain new insights into human speech disorders, such as aphasia and Parkinson’s disease, which can impair a person’s ability to produce language.—
Ella Jeffries,
Smithsonian Magazine,
21 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Olympians – athletes at the top of their sport and in prime health – are idolized and often viewed as superhuman.—
Emily Hemendinger,
The Conversation,
13 Feb. 2026
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Following the rally, Larson and Jeffries left for a fundraising dinner at The Foundry restaurant at the top of the Hartford Steam Boiler building, a frequent location for fundraisers when then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi came to town.—
Christopher Keating,
Hartford Courant,
13 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Elite.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/elite. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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