nobility
- 01 C1 Advanced
the group of people who belong to the highest social class and often have titles like Duke or Baron.
the social class consisting of people with hereditary or honorary titles; the aristocracy.
Simple“In the past, the nobility owned most of the land in the country.”
In context“The French Revolution fundamentally altered the relationship between the nobility and the common people, stripping the former of their ancient legal privileges.”
Usageuncountable when referring to the class as a whole; countable when referring to specific noble families.
SynonymsAntonyms - 02 C1 Advanced
the quality of being honest, brave, and kind.
the quality of being noble in character, mind, or rank; excellence of moral disposition.
Simple“We all admired the nobility of his actions when he helped the family.”
In context“The speaker praised the nobility of the volunteers, noting that their selfless dedication to the cause was an inspiration to the entire community.”
“Series one featured a fraudster impersonating a member of the nobility while leaving their victims to foot the bill for their lavish life, and another faking terminal cancer.”
From Old French nobilité, from Latin nobilitas. Equivalent to noble + -ity.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.