esquire

noun

Definition of esquirenext
as in duke

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of esquire These men were called squires for most of the Middle Ages, but esquire began to appear in the 15th century. — Melissa Mohr, The Christian Science Monitor, 27 June 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for esquire
  1. duke
  2. baronet
  3. earl
  4. baron
  5. prince
  6. viscount
  7. marquess
  8. seigneur
Noun
  • Eventually its popularity fell, and in 1872 the duke sold the rights to Georg Schneider, who continues to make his Schneider Weisse beers to this day.
    — Jay R. Brooks, Mercury News, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Medici duke died of malaria, not arsenic In 1587, Grand Duke Francesco de Medici and his wife, Bianca Cappello, died during a visit to the family villa in Poggio after a brief severe illness.
    — ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of duke
Noun
  • Connie is married to a baronet, Clifford, who has been made impotent by a war wound, and Mellors is the gamekeeper on Clifford’s estate, Wragby.
    — Louis Menand, New Yorker, 1 June 2026
  • The baronet wanders around his castle numb on heroin, reeling from his spectacular flameout as CEO of Lumi and the recent loss of his seat in Parliament.
    — Hershal Pandya, Vulture, 2 Mar. 2026
Definition of baronet
Noun
  • Burnard and O’Shaughnessy point out that, whereas Britain regularly sent nobles to govern the Caribbean colonies—and dukes and earls to Ireland—the men appointed to administer the thirteen colonies more often lacked titles and were paid less.
    — Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 4 May 2026
  • While this is partly because her father is an earl, the other part of her background honors the fact that her mother was a housemaid.
    — Patricia A. Matthew, Literary Hub, 27 Mar. 2026
Definition of earl
Noun
  • Like the barons of New York a century ago, Ackman seems to be trying to shift the landscape to create another corridor, one fitted to his own interests.
    — Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 11 Aug. 2026
  • The switch is because the Cox family — descendants of an Ohio press baron who bought his first newspaper in 1898, began acquiring cable systems in 1962 — will become the firm’s largest shareholder group, with about 23% of the stock.
    — Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of baron
Noun
  • No two tales of what happened to Maelor after his knight protector was shot dead agree, but the young boy was also slain on the bridge, perhaps torn apart by the mob who assailed him, arguing over what to do with the young prince.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Corlys finds the rogue prince among Tumbleton’s dusty alleys and informs him that Ulf has turned — that the town has been lost to dragonfire while the realm watched.
    — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of prince
Noun
  • Under the law, the remaining earls, viscounts and dukes who inherited their seats in the chamber along with their aristocratic titles will leave Parliament for good when the current session concludes this spring.
    — Peter Weber, TheWeek, 12 Mar. 2026
  • Members of the upper chamber dropped their objections to legislation passed by the House of Commons ousting dozens of dukes, earls and viscounts who inherited their seats in the House of Lords, The Associated Press reported.
    — Jared Gans, The Hill, 12 Mar. 2026
Definition of viscount
Noun
  • The marquess, however, decided not to buy the painting, which belongs to a private collection and, before now, has only ever been on public display once.
    — The Week UK, TheWeek, 27 Mar. 2026
  • The agreement with the marquess allows Kays to take up to 25,000 tons of granite off the island by 2050.
    — Matt Slater, New York Times, 11 Feb. 2026
Definition of marquess
Noun
  • Gianfranco was every inch the grand seigneur but without the pretense.
    — John Mariani, Forbes, 27 Nov. 2024
  • The Patriots have lost five of six to Bills uber-QB Josh Allen, the reigning signal-caller seigneur of the AFC East.
    — Christopher L. Gasper, BostonGlobe.com, 8 Jan. 2023
Definition of seigneur

Browse Nearby Words

espying
esquire
esquires
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Esquire.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/esquire. Accessed 15 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on esquire

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about esquire

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Words of the Week - Aug. 14

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All