as in noblemen
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 grandees
The grandees of the Democratic Party may want to move on.
—
Keith Naughton, The Washington Examiner, 14 Mar. 2026
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
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
Keith Naughton, The Washington Examiner, 14 Mar. 2026
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grandees
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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The upper chamber of the British Parliament was composed of noblemen who inherited their seats for most of its history.—
Jared Gans,
The Hill,
12 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Mike Brown apologizes for his French, ladies and gentlemen — particularly the children watching the MSG Networks’ Knicks postgame broadcast at home — but OG Anunoby has only been named to an NBA All-Defensive Team once in his career.—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
4 Apr. 2026
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Well, gentlemen, thank you both for lending us your expertise for this conversation.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
29 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Grandees.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grandees. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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