stately
Grand, dignified and impressive.
stately in a sentence
- The stately swan glided past the rowing boats as if it owned the lake.
- We visited a stately home with grand pillars, a sweeping staircase and enormous gardens.
Try an 11+ style question
Verbal reasoning papers often ask about a word like this.
Which word is closest in meaning to stately?
- Agrand
- Bplain
- Chumble
- Dscruffy
Show the answer
A: grand. The other three mean the opposite of stately.
Which word is most nearly opposite in meaning to stately?
- Agrand
- Bplain
- Cproud
- Dnoble
Show the answer
B: plain. The other three mean nearly the same as stately.
Words that mean something similar
grand, noble, proud
Words that mean the opposite
plain, humble, scruffy
More words about appearance & looks
- stout: Rather fat and solid, or strong and thick.
- sturdy: Strong and solidly built, not easily broken.
- superb: Extremely good; among the very best.
- tarnish: To make something less shiny or spoil how good it seems.
- tattered: Torn, ragged and falling apart.
- taut: Stretched tight with no slack.
- threadbare: So worn out that the material is thin and nearly see-through.
- transparent: So clear that you can see straight through it.
More words to explore
Sitting the 11+ in Kent, Medway or Buckinghamshire?
Plain-English guides to each test, from the councils’ own pages: Kent Test · Medway Test · Bucks Secondary Transfer Test