noblesse

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

They rode to work in Rolls-Royces and adhered to a Protestant ethic of noblesse oblige.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025

When Pritzker finds himself explaining why he does what he does, he often falls back on the vague language of noblesse oblige—that “we” have a responsibility to “lift up” or “stand up” for “the vulnerable.”

From Slate • Sep. 18, 2025

There might be just a dash of noblesse oblige in there, too, a little well-intentioned clemency from soccer’s great conqueror.

From New York Times • Mar. 8, 2024

It's the "noblesse oblige" posturing of 19th-century industrialists, who pretended that building a few museums made up for grinding underpaid workers into dust.

From Salon • Oct. 12, 2023

Remote cousins and family friends whom mere acquaintanceship invested with a sort of blood obligation noblesse oblige.

From "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner