as in nobleman
a man of high birth or social position
only a Spanish grandee—and no one of lesser rank—can address comments to the king and queen of Spain
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 grandee
An editor could pick up the phone and try to get a former secretary of state or the treasury, a grandee of the House or Senate, and probably even ex-president or vice-president and pitch them to review a book with a reasonable chance of success.
—
Literary Hub,
10 Feb. 2026
Suffice it to say, with credentials such as this, a charivari of fashion-week regulars, media, film and musical grandees and not a few New York and London tatterdemalions showed for the September 12 bacchanal on Church Street.
—
Guy Martin,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
In those days, the thing to do when opening a new store was partner with a local charity to host a big event: Make nice with the hometown grandees, bring in some likely customers.
—
Gene Pressman,
HollywoodReporter,
25 Aug. 2025
Instead, the concept has been perverted to mean higher-ed grandees' exclusive right to determine who participates in scholarly life.
—
Ilya Shapiro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for grandee
Literary Hub,
10 Feb. 2026
Suffice it to say, with credentials such as this, a charivari of fashion-week regulars, media, film and musical grandees and not a few New York and London tatterdemalions showed for the September 12 bacchanal on Church Street.
—
Guy Martin,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
In those days, the thing to do when opening a new store was partner with a local charity to host a big event: Make nice with the hometown grandees, bring in some likely customers.
—
Gene Pressman,
HollywoodReporter,
25 Aug. 2025
Instead, the concept has been perverted to mean higher-ed grandees' exclusive right to determine who participates in scholarly life.
—
Ilya Shapiro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for grandee
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grandee
Noun
-
One of the earliest examples emerged in the 16th century, when Venetian nobleman Luigi Cornaro promoted the benefits of a restricted diet in La Vita Sobria (The Art of Living Long), a series of essays describing his personal experiences of cutting certain foods from his diet.
-
The sprawling Northamptonshire property was first granted to Norman nobleman Geoffrey of Mowbray following the 11th-century Norman Conquest, later passing to Isabel de Bruce—the grandmother of Scottish king Robert the Bruce—before eventually returning to the English crown in the 14th century.
Noun
-
Take The Music Lesson, a study of a young woman playing the virginal, closely watched by a gentleman, which Graham-Dixon reads as a depiction of Collegiants chastely performing and singing psalms.
-
That is some business that the gentlemen are discussing.
Cite this Entry
“Grandee.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grandee. Accessed 28 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
