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
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Recent Examples of grandee
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
Their accomplishments also earned them the attention of the grandees in Beijing.
—Foreign Affairs, 1 Jan. 2025
To go on about Volcker—who surely was an excellent Fed chair—is to mistake grandees for the action that mattered.
—Brian Domitrovic, Forbes, 31 Dec. 2024
Or has the shock of encountering the wild variety of views visible on Elon Musk’s X just been too much for grandees used to moving in circles where the acceptable boundaries of disagreement are narrowly drawn?
—The Editors, National Review, 10 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for grandee
Ilya Shapiro, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Aug. 2025
Their accomplishments also earned them the attention of the grandees in Beijing.
—Foreign Affairs, 1 Jan. 2025
To go on about Volcker—who surely was an excellent Fed chair—is to mistake grandees for the action that mattered.
—Brian Domitrovic, Forbes, 31 Dec. 2024
Or has the shock of encountering the wild variety of views visible on Elon Musk’s X just been too much for grandees used to moving in circles where the acceptable boundaries of disagreement are narrowly drawn?
—The Editors, National Review, 10 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for grandee
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grandee
Noun
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Her mother was a maid and her father was a nobleman, meaning that Sophie is not only a maid but illegitimate.—
Christina Grace Tucker,
Vulture,
26 Feb. 2026
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Her lecture on Orlando, Virginia Woolf’s fantastical 1928 novel about an English nobleman who turns into a woman halfway through his centuries-long life, is a showstopper.—
Manuel Mendoza,
Dallas Morning News,
19 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Howard has always been a thoughtful gentleman about the competition.—
Rick Kogan,
Chicago Tribune,
24 Feb. 2026
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The charro is far from a modest vaquero, but a venerable caballero (gentleman) who has mastered the wrangling artistry of the frontier.—
Foreign Correspondent,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Grandee.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grandee. Accessed 2 Mar. 2026.
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