ENGLISH
REFERENCE

stately

adj.
C1 Advanced US //ˈsteɪtɫi// UK //stˈeɪtli// state·ly

adj. impressive and grand in a slow, serious way. You use this to describe things like large old houses or a person who moves with great dignity.

adj. characterised by a dignified, impressive, or grand appearance or manner. Often describes physical structures or deliberate, slow movement.


SIMPLE

The queen walked into the room with a stately pace.

CONTEXTUAL

The wedding was held at a stately home surrounded by hundreds of acres of private parkland.

COMPLEX

The ship made a stately progress across the harbour, its massive hull barely seeming to disturb the glassy surface of the water.

Synonyms
Etymology 1

From Middle English staately, staatly, stateli, statelie, stately, statelyche, statelye, statli, statly. Compare stour. By surface analysis, state + -ly (adjectival suffix).

Etymology 2

From Middle English stately, statli, equivalent to state + -ly (adverbial suffix).

Usage

Typically used attributively before a noun; often modifies 'home', 'pace', or 'manner'.

Pitfall

He walked statelily down the hallHe walked in a stately mannerAlthough it ends in -ly, this word is an adjective, not an adverb; it cannot modify a verb directly.

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