Princely
adj.kind, hopefulliterary
What it means
Strikingly generous, splendid, or large enough to evoke royal wealth.
Reach for it when praising a gift, sum, or setting for exceptional generosity or magnificence
A princely donation secured the observatory's public nights for another decade.
Choose between these
6- playful
royal
when informal exaggeration can evoke abundance fit for royalty
not when Royal risks a literal monarchy reading unless the exaggeration is obvious.
- warm
if willing giving matters more than the size or splendor
not when Generous covers modest acts and lacks the scale of princely.
- professional
for a substantial amount that deserves approving notice
not when Handsome is idiomatic with sums and may be ambiguous elsewhere.
- formal
when generosity or expenditure greatly exceeds the ordinary
not when Lavish can imply excess and is not inherently dignified.
- formal
when a gift is exceptionally liberal in size
not when Munificent is rare and applies more precisely to giving than surroundings.
- literary
for impressive grandeur that inspires admiration
not when Magnificent says little about generosity and can describe natural scenery.
Said against
3- meager
- stingy
- paltry
It naturally appears in
3- princely sum
The auction raised a princely sum for the mountain rescue service.
- princely gift
A princely gift of instruments equipped every school in the district.
- princely hospitality
The hosts offered princely hospitality without making the visitors feel indebted.
Where this comes from
- wiktionary, English adjective sense: magnificent or very generous opens in a new tab · retrieved 2026-07-26
The definition and the example on this page are written here. The dictionaries above ground which meaning is being described, not the wording.