What does "royalty" mean?
The rank, status, power or authority of a monarch.
Royalty
name, noun, slang
name, noun, slang ·3 syllables ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The rank, status, power or authority of a monarch.
- Grammar: royalty is listed as name, noun, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: royal family, ancestry, ancienne noblesse, anointed king.
- Useful contrasts: commoners, no royalty, nonpayment.
- Usage evidence: Although the fork entered society on the tables of rich people, many members of royalty, such as Elizabeth I of England and Louis XIV of France, ate with their fingers.
How to use "royalty"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "royalty" 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 "royalty" 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 "royalty" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "royalty" 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 "royalty" is acting as name, noun, slang 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 "royal family" 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 "royalty", 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 The rank, status, power or authority of a monarch. countable, uncountable
- 2 royal persons collectively wordnet
- 3 People of royal rank, plus their families, treated as a group. countable, uncountable
"Wolferton was an important station on the Kings Lynn-Hunstanton line, which closed in 1969. As the station was convenient for the Sandringham estate, it was regularly patronised by royalty, and royal retiring rooms were provided."
- 4 payment to the holder of a patent or copyright or resource for the right to use their property wordnet
- 5 A royal right or prerogative, such as the exploitation of a natural resource; the granting of such a right; payment received for such a right. countable, uncountable
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 The payment received by an owner of real property for exploitation of mineral rights in the property. countable, uncountable
- 7 Payment made to a writer, composer, inventor etc for the sale or use of intellectual property, invention etc. broadly, countable, uncountable
- 8 To make more money from a book than it cost to run an advertising campaign for it; to make enough in royalties to cover the advance a book received. countable, uncountable
"Until the total of advances in that contract has been earned out by royalties from any or all books in that contract, the author will not receive additional royalties."
- 9 Someone in a privileged position. countable, figuratively, uncountable
"England will have another manager for the next World Cup, Hodgson’s reign will be defined by a result comparable to losing to the United States in the 1950 World Cup and the now-familiar inquest will begin again in a country that likes to see itself as football royalty."
- 10 A king and a queen as a starting hand in Texas hold 'em. countable, slang, uncountable
- 11 The bounds of a royal burgh. Scotland, countable, historical, uncountable
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"Although the fork entered society on the tables of rich people, many members of royalty, such as Elizabeth I of England and Louis XIV of France, ate with their fingers."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "royalty"?
Common synonyms include: royal family, ancestry, ancienne noblesse, anointed king, aristocracy, aristocraticalness.
How do you use "royalty" in a sentence?
Although the fork entered society on the tables of rich people, many members of royalty, such as Elizabeth I of England and Louis XIV of France, ate with their fingers.
Etymology
From Middle English royaltee, roialtee, royalte, from Old French roialté, roiauté, realté (compare earlier Old French realted (“realm, kingdom”)), from Vulgar Latin *rēgālitās, from Latin rēgālis, equivalent to royal + -ty. Doublet of regality.