Stately — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

Stately (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

1. having or showing a formal and serious or reserved manner

   "the governor watched with stately aloofness as his wife charmed the party guests"

   similar: august, dignified, distingué, distinguished, imposing, portly, solemn, staid
   related: decorous, proper, seemly, grave, grim, po-faced (British), sober, somber, aristocratic, elegant, elevated, handsome, lordly, magisterial, majestic, noble
   opposite: flighty, frivolous, giddy, goofy, silly, undignified
   near: coarse, crass, crude, improper, indecent, uncouth, unseemly, vulgar

2. having or showing elegance

   "a stately dowager in an evening gown"

   similar: classy, courtly, elegant, fine, graceful, handsome, majestic, refined, tasteful
   related: august, baronial, gallant, glorious, grand, heroic, imposing, lavish, luxurious, magnificent, monumental, noble, ornate, proud, regal, rich, royal, splendid, superb, artful, genteel, polished, sophisticated, classic, conservative, exquisite, quiet, restrained, simple, understated, aristocratic, patrician, à la mode, chic, fashionable, in, modish, posh, sharp, sleek, smart, snappy, stylish, swagger, swank, affected, grandiose, ostentatious, pretentious, recherché
   opposite: dowdy, graceless, inelegant, styleless, tasteless, unfashionable, unhandsome, unstylish
   near: cheesy, coarse, crude, flamboyant, flashy, garish, gaudy, glitzy, grotesque, loud, raffish, splashy, tacky, tawdry, ticky-tacky, rough-edged, rough-hewn, rude, trashy, uncouth, uncultivated, uncultured, unpolished, unrefined, vulgar

3. large and impressive in size, grandeur, extent, or conception

   "stately plantation homes that are now open to the public as museums"

   similar: august, baronial, epic, gallant, glorious, grand, grandiose, heroic, Homeric, imperial, imposing, magnific, magnificent, majestic, massive, monumental, noble, proud, regal, royal, splendid
   related: colossal, monstrous, prodigious, stupendous, tremendous, kingly, lordly, princely, queenly, awesome, awful, cosmic, sublime, wondrous, formidable, impressive, prepossessing, redoubtable, apocalyptic, inflated, operatic, overblown, pompous, marvelous, superb, terrific, wonderful, extravagant, lavish, luxurious, opulent, palatial, palatine, sumptuous, gorgeous, resplendent, splendiferous, extraordinary, killer, remarkable, sensational, striking, celestial, divine, heavenly
   opposite: humble, unheroic, unimposing, unimpressive
   near: lowly, modest, unprepossessing, average, common, mediocre, ordinary, run-of-the-mill, second-rate, abject, mean, meretricious, shabby, sordid, insignificant, measly, paltry, petty, puny, trifling, trivial

4. very dignified in form, tone, or style

   "a stately composition that has served as the musical accompaniment for countless graduations and other ceremonial occasions"

   similar: elevated, eloquent, formal, high-flown, lofty, majestic, towering
   related: affected, bombastic, declamatory, florid, flowery, grandiloquent, grandiose, highfalutin, oratorical, pompous, pretentious, rhetorical, stilted, Attic, cultured, refined, classy, courtly, fine, graceful, tasteful, aristocratic, genteel, patrician, correct, educated, grammatical, proper, academic, bookish, learned, literary
   opposite: ineloquent, low, undignified
   near: casual, colloquial, conversational, informal, nonformal, slangy, unbookish, unliterary, vernacular, coarse, common, crass, crude, gross, ill-bred, indecent, lowbred, lowbrow, rough, rough-hewn, rude, tasteless, uncouth, uncultivated, uncultured, unpolished, unrefined, vulgar, incorrect, substandard, uneducated, ungrammatical, unlearned