as in noblemen
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 grandees
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
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
Guy Martin, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grandees
Noun
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For most of its 700-year history, the House of Lords was composed of noblemen — not women — who inherited their seats, alongside a smattering of bishops.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
18 Feb. 2026
-
Archaeology News reported that noblemen might have performed administrative tasks.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
29 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Mulvaney’s penchant for girlish giggles and squeals between bites of her spaghetti pomodoro stand out in Arno, especially when juxtaposed against the sea of older gentlemen in an assortment of ill-fitting grey blazers sitting behind her at the bar.—
Chris Murphy,
Vanity Fair,
18 Feb. 2026
-
Distinguished gentlemen boasting dashing Hessian boots and tall beaver hats.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Grandees.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grandees. Accessed 27 Feb. 2026.
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