What does "imperial" mean?
A bottle of wine (usually Bordeaux) containing 6 liters of fluid, eight times the volume of a standard bottle.
Imperial
/ɪmˈpɪə.ɹi.əl/ adj, name, noun
adj, name, noun ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A bottle of wine (usually Bordeaux) containing 6 liters of fluid, eight times the volume of a standard bottle.
- Grammar: imperial is listed as adj, name, noun.
- Nearest alternatives: majestic, regal, royal, absolute.
- Useful contrasts: domestic, humble, local.
- Usage evidence: The royal family lives in the Imperial Palace.
How to use "imperial"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "imperial" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "imperial" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "imperial" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "imperial" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "imperial" is acting as adj, name, noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "majestic" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "imperial", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A bottle of wine (usually Bordeaux) containing 6 liters of fluid, eight times the volume of a standard bottle. countable, uncountable
- 2 A large Bordeaux wine bottle with the capacity of about 6 liters, equivalent to 8 standard bottles.
- 3 a piece of luggage carried on top of a coach wordnet
- 4 A writing paper size measuring 30 × 22 inches, or printing paper measuring 32 × 22 inches. countable, uncountable
- 5 a small tufted beard worn by Emperor Napoleon III wordnet
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 A card game differing from piquet in some minor details, and in having a trump. uncountable
- 7 Any of several combinations of cards which score in this game. countable
- 8 A crown imperial. countable, uncountable
"There are who say the sonnet's meted maze Is all too fettered for the poet's powers, Compelled to crowd his flush and airy flowers Like pots of tall imperials, ill at ease."
- 9 A tuft of hair on the lower lip (so called from its use by Napoleon III). countable, uncountable
- 10 A kind of dome, as in Moorish buildings. countable, uncountable
- 11 An outside or roof seat on a diligence or carriage. countable, historical, uncountable
"...and she was just in time to see Mr. Boyne Sillery hand her aunt into a carriage, jump in himself, when it drove off with a rapidity which scarcely allowed her to observe that a large imperial was on the top, and her aunt's servant, with a huge bandbox, on the dickey."
- 12 A suitcase or trunk designed to be transported on the roof of a carriage. countable, historical, uncountable
"[T]he imperials were packed, and the post-chariot was at the door."
- 13 A variety of green tea. countable, uncountable
Adjective
- 1 Related to an empire, emperor, or empress.
"the imperial diadem of Rome"
- 2 Clipping of Imperial Japanese. abbreviation, alt-of, clipping, not-comparable
"For quotations using this term, see Citations:Imperial."
- 3 Relating to the British imperial system of measurement.
"Using imperial units such as pounds makes fresh produce look cheaper than it really is, and it might be luring consumers away from frozen produce, which could possibly provide the same nutritional benefits at lower cost."
- 4 Alternative letter-case form of imperial (“of alcohol: stronger”). alt-of, not-comparable
- 5 Very grand or fine.
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 Of special, superior, or unusual size or excellence.
- 7 Stronger than typical. (Derived from the name of Russian Imperial stout, a strong dark beer.)
"Imperial pale ale, Imperial IPA, Imperial pilsner, Imperial milk stout, Imperial lager, Imperial mead"
Adjective
- 1 belonging to or befitting a supreme ruler wordnet
- 2 befitting or belonging to an emperor or empress wordnet
- 3 relating to or associated with an empire wordnet
- 4 of or belonging to the British Imperial System of weights and measures wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A city in Imperial County, California, United States.
- 2 A city, the county seat of Chase County, Nebraska, United States.
- 3 A town in Saskatchewan, Canada.
- 4 Imperial College London.
"He is now professor of infectious disease epidemiology at Imperial"
- 5 A census-designated place in Pennsylvania, United States.
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 A census-designated place in Texas, United States.
- 7 An unincorporated community in Virginia, United States.
- 8 An unincorporated community in West Virginia, United States.
- 9 A former department of Chile.
Example
"The royal family lives in the Imperial Palace."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "imperial"?
Common synonyms include: majestic, regal, royal, absolute, absolutist, absolutistic.
How do you use "imperial" in a sentence?
The royal family lives in the Imperial Palace.
How do you pronounce "imperial"?
Pronounced /ɪmˈpɪə.ɹi.əl/.
Etymology
From Middle English imperial, from Old French imperial, from Latin imperiālis (“of the empire or emperor, imperial”), from imperium (“empire, imperial government”) + -ālis, from imperō (“command, order”), from im- (“form of in”) + parō (“prepare, arrange; intend”). Displaced Old English cāserlīċ.