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
-
From her former relationship with the Duke to her family’s cottage in Cornwall, it’s been hinted that Lindsay comes from a wealthy, maybe even aristocratic British background, yet she is treated like a concierge by Ava and her friends.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
16 Apr. 2026
-
The Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, once an aristocratic mansion, falls somewhere between the avant-garde works at the Reina Sofia and the traditional Spanish art at the Prado.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
11 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Sorrell was skeptical of sorting jobs into categories of good versus bad, or noble versus corrupt.—
Emma Green,
New Yorker,
17 Apr. 2026
-
Without this context, stories are more akin to ad copy for a seemingly noble cause than neutral, helpful reporting.—
U T Editorial Board,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
17 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Highborn.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/highborn. Accessed 23 Apr. 2026.
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