as in nobleman
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 grandee
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
In those days, the thing to do when opening a new store was partner with a local charity to host a big event: Make nice with the hometown grandees, bring in some likely customers.
—Gene Pressman, HollywoodReporter, 25 Aug. 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
Their accomplishments also earned them the attention of the grandees in Beijing.
—Foreign Affairs, 1 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for grandee
Guy Martin, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
In those days, the thing to do when opening a new store was partner with a local charity to host a big event: Make nice with the hometown grandees, bring in some likely customers.
—Gene Pressman, HollywoodReporter, 25 Aug. 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
Their accomplishments also earned them the attention of the grandees in Beijing.
—Foreign Affairs, 1 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for grandee
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grandee
Noun
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In addition, while common soldiers were buried in mass graves, officers and noblemen were usually laid to rest in a church.—
Eleanor Beardsley,
NPR,
30 Mar. 2026
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To confuse UConn with anything other than the University of Connecticut would be akin to assuming Duke was merely some nobleman in England.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
29 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Well, gentlemen, thank you both for lending us your expertise for this conversation.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
29 Mar. 2026
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In 2016, Eynon moved the operation to the new factory in Denver at the site of what was previously something of a private gentleman’s club for Denver Nuggets players, complete with a pool-table area, a bar, even a cigar and wine room.—
Tiney Ricciardi,
Denver Post,
27 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Grandee.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grandee. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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