1
as in aristocracy
the highest class in a society
poor tenant farmers working for landed gentry
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in class
one of the segments of society into which people are grouped
the old-line yachting gentry frowns on vulgar displays of wealth
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of gentry
But to assume the weekend was all the sanctum of the media landed gentry would be to assume wrong.
—
Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 27 Apr. 2025
Extreme caricatures of secondary figures (ancient maid, assorted daft gentry) keep us at an even further remove than the cameras do.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025
Because the imperial bureaucracy wasn’t large and did not penetrate to small towns or villages, much of local life was run by this gentry.
—Ian Johnson, The Atlantic, 27 Mar. 2025
Walter may have immigrated to England from Ireland; his wife, meanwhile, was a member of a lower gentry English family.
—Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gentry
Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 27 Apr. 2025
Extreme caricatures of secondary figures (ancient maid, assorted daft gentry) keep us at an even further remove than the cameras do.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025
Because the imperial bureaucracy wasn’t large and did not penetrate to small towns or villages, much of local life was run by this gentry.
—Ian Johnson, The Atlantic, 27 Mar. 2025
Walter may have immigrated to England from Ireland; his wife, meanwhile, was a member of a lower gentry English family.
—Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gentry
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gentry
Noun
-
A little biographical information: He was born in 1896 into the decaying Bourbon aristocracy.—
Jay Nordlinger,
National Review,
7 Apr. 2025
-
Republican purists wanted a simple, technical training school that kept the costs low and, more importantly, kept the officer corps from evolving into an aristocracy.—
Ryan Shaw / Made by History,
TIME,
24 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
College art classes didn’t work out, and when his mother died unexpectedly, there were the Marines.—
Chadd Scott,
Forbes.com,
11 July 2025
-
Miami brings in a whole new roster made up of a top-20 recruiting class and transfers including Tre Donaldson (Michigan), Malik Reneau (Indiana), Ernest Udeh Jr. (TCU), Tru Washington (New Mexico), Jordyn Kee (Georgia) and Marcus Allen (Missouri).—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
11 July 2025
Noun
-
Meanwhile, the Left Bank, or Rive Gauche, lies on the more discreet side with its hôtels particuliers, mansions, and grand townhouses built by French nobility when Louis XIV’s court traded Paris for Versailles.—
Lane Nieset,
Travel + Leisure,
26 June 2025
-
Elegant women and dandies rapidly flocked to it, including royalty and nobility such as the Countess of Castiglione, Princess of Metternich, Prince of Wales and Duchess of Berry.—
Y-Jean Mun-Delsalle,
Forbes.com,
25 June 2025
Noun
-
Mishra sums it up by saying that nobody outside of India gets the concept of caste (without denying that privileged upper caste Indians don’t get it either).—
Ritesh Mehta,
IndieWire,
22 May 2025
-
Led by the example of captain Aleksander Barkov, there is no caste system evident, no star-system in attitude.—
Greg Cote,
Miami Herald,
23 May 2025
Noun
-
Many folks know of the color-changing capabilities of hydrangeas, but keep reading for a few tips on how to properly care for them beyond adjusting soil pH. Hydrangeas prefer moist, well-draining soil and a sheltered spot with partial shade.—
Dr. Nick Goltz,
Hartford Courant,
5 July 2025
-
There’s enough genre elements in this worst-case-scenario parable, from righteous kills to gory sieges to tense cat-and-mouse games, to satisfy folks who just want a few pleasurably cheap thrills.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
5 July 2025
Noun
-
Very few times did hourly levels read 0 ppb, meaning no presence of the gas.—
Tammy Murga,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
5 July 2025
-
The deadly floods that struck Texas on the 4th of July caught local officials off guard as the torrential rains caused the Guadalupe River to rise to near-historic levels in a matter of minutes, officials said at a press conference Saturday.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
5 July 2025
Noun
-
The estate has paid bonuses like this to attorneys for years and they’ve all been approved without any objections.—
Marina Watts,
People.com,
12 July 2025
-
With them out of the picture, McIlwain said the estate turned to the Oak Park River Forest Infant Welfare Society.—
Jesse Wright,
Chicago Tribune,
11 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Gentry.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gentry. Accessed 15 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share