as in aristocratic
of high birth, rank, or station
skeptics have argued that these dramatic masterpieces must have been written by someone more highborn than one William Shakespeare of Stratford-upon-Avon
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Recent Examples of highborn
That Zohran Mamdani was highborn is no secret.
—
Rebecca Traister, Vulture, 10 Feb. 2026
But his background is closer to that of George, the highborn son.
—Michael Schulman, New Yorker, 2 Feb. 2026
Fans from America to Europe to Australia bought his books and flocked to his one-man shows, and his potent doses of humor and hard truth enthralled both the highborn and the humble.
—Mary Ann Gwinn, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2025
Long shamed for being both mixed-race and illegitimate, Dieudonné needs a highborn bride to prove his worth in the court of Louis XVI.
—Olivia Waite, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2025
Sawai starred as Toda Mariko, a highborn woman with an important role to play in a brewing civil war among Japan’s ruling council of regents.
—Joe Otterson, Variety, 16 Sep. 2024
Along a road lined with thousands of pagan graves and the multilayered catacombs of the Christians, the Gothic army traveled after the three-day sack, leading wagons bulging with loot and a contingent of highborn Roman hostages, of whom by far the most valuable was the 20-year-old Placidia.
—Tony Perrottet, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Jan. 2023
The banking dynasty’s founder, Mayer Amschel Rothschild of Frankfurt, a Jewish dealer in rare coins, began making loans and cultivating a highborn clientele in the 18th century.
—James R. Hagerty, WSJ, 11 Nov. 2022
But unlike the sinisterly driven and chaste Eve—played by the highborn Anne Baxter, granddaughter of Frank Lloyd Wright—Miss Caswell uses her body to get ahead, providing a foil for the successful antihero.
—Sophie Lewis, Harper’s Magazine , 26 Oct. 2022
Rebecca Traister, Vulture, 10 Feb. 2026
But his background is closer to that of George, the highborn son.
—Michael Schulman, New Yorker, 2 Feb. 2026
Fans from America to Europe to Australia bought his books and flocked to his one-man shows, and his potent doses of humor and hard truth enthralled both the highborn and the humble.
—Mary Ann Gwinn, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2025
Long shamed for being both mixed-race and illegitimate, Dieudonné needs a highborn bride to prove his worth in the court of Louis XVI.
—Olivia Waite, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2025
Sawai starred as Toda Mariko, a highborn woman with an important role to play in a brewing civil war among Japan’s ruling council of regents.
—Joe Otterson, Variety, 16 Sep. 2024
Along a road lined with thousands of pagan graves and the multilayered catacombs of the Christians, the Gothic army traveled after the three-day sack, leading wagons bulging with loot and a contingent of highborn Roman hostages, of whom by far the most valuable was the 20-year-old Placidia.
—Tony Perrottet, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Jan. 2023
The banking dynasty’s founder, Mayer Amschel Rothschild of Frankfurt, a Jewish dealer in rare coins, began making loans and cultivating a highborn clientele in the 18th century.
—James R. Hagerty, WSJ, 11 Nov. 2022
But unlike the sinisterly driven and chaste Eve—played by the highborn Anne Baxter, granddaughter of Frank Lloyd Wright—Miss Caswell uses her body to get ahead, providing a foil for the successful antihero.
—Sophie Lewis, Harper’s Magazine , 26 Oct. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for highborn
Adjective
-
Because the feudal courts, chivalric codes, and aristocratic patronage that had sustained it were gone.—
Daniel Birnbaum,
Artforum,
2 Apr. 2026
-
The poisoning of a champion stallion opens an investigation that starts to expose tensions and secrets inside an aristocratic horse breeding dynasty.—
Emiliano de Pablos,
Variety,
24 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Most references to the Arbat in the ancient chronicles are connected to fires, amid mention of invasions and plagues and noble births.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Apr. 2026
-
Replete with a young Gemma and Clay Morrow (Ron Perlman) in the middle as SAMCRO evolved from noble origins to criminal pursuits and violence.—
Mike Fleming Jr,
Deadline,
31 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Highborn.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/highborn. Accessed 9 Apr. 2026.
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