What does "gentlefolk" mean?

People of superior social position.

What is a synonym for "gentlefolk"?

Common synonyms include: aristocrats, gentlefolks, gentry, the high-born, upper class.

How do you pronounce "gentlefolk"?

Pronounced //ˈd͡ʒɛntl̩fəʊk//.

Gentlefolk

//ˈd͡ʒɛntl̩fəʊk// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
People of superior social position. archaic, plural, plural-only
"We ſay that Shores wife hath a prety foote, / A cherry lippe, a bonny eie, a paſſing pleaſing tongue: / And that the Queenes kindred are made gentlefolks."
2
people of good family and breeding and high social status wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

aristocrats gentlefolks gentry the high-born upper class

Antonyms

All antonyms

lower class the low-born

Example

More examples

"We ſay that Shores wife hath a prety foote, / A cherry lippe, a bonny eie, a paſſing pleaſing tongue: / And that the Queenes kindred are made gentlefolks."

Etymology

From gentle (“(archaic) well-born; of a good family or respectable birth”) + folk.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.