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Definitions

royalty

[roi-uhl-tee] / ˈrɔɪ əl ti /
NOUN
royal persons or status; nobility
Synonyms
STRONG
aristocracy authority eminence kingship nobility power primacy queenship rank regency supremacy the crown
WEAK
distinction eminence greatness majesty power
NOUN
payment
Synonyms
STRONGEST
fee payment percentage portion share
STRONG
honorarium recompense remuneration

Frequently Asked Questions

What is another word for royalty?
Royalty has a number of different meanings, and there are different synonyms for each one. Most generally, royalty refers to royal people collectively. The royalty of a specific place is often referred to as the monarchy. A metonym for royalty is the crown. Individual members of the royalty can be called royals. Sometimes, royalty refers to a specific royal family. Royalty is sometimes used in a metaphorical sense. When we say someone is treated like royalty, we mean they are given the most luxurious and deferential treatment, as if they were a king or queen. To be treated like royalty is to be catered to, indulged, pampered, or spoiled. Sometimes, royalty is used in a figurative sense to refer to a very important person or people in a particular arena, especially a public one like politics or show business, as in She’s fashion royalty. Such people can be referred to as A-list celebrities, A-listers, VIPs, and luminaries. Another much different meaning of royalty refers to a payment made in a business arrangement, such as the kind that a creator receives when their work is purchased or used in some way (like when a music streaming service pays a record company each time a song is played and a percentage of that payment goes to the artist). These royalties are also called royalty payments. Traditionally, they come in the form of royalty checks. Creators who get royalties are said to get a percentage (of the profits).
What are the names for royalty?
There are all kinds of different words for different members of a royal family. Well-known royal positions include queen, king, prince, and princess. The reigning monarch can be called the sovereign. Queen consort refers to the wife of a reigning king. A queen dowager (or dowager queen) is the widow of a king. A queen mother is a queen dowager whose child is the reigning monarch. A regent is someone who reigns in the absence of the actual monarch, such as when the monarch dies and a child inherits the throne but is too young to rule. A crown prince is a male heir apparent (the next in line for the throne). The term crown princess can refer to the female heir to the throne or to the wife of the crown prince.
How do you use royalty in a sentence?
Royalty commonly refers collectively to members of royal families, but it can be used in many other ways, including to refer to people who are especially important and respected in a certain field. Here are some examples of royalty in a sentence:
  • The lives of royalty may seem glamorous, but I’d never want to be under a microscope like that. 
  • When we got to the resort, they treated us like royalty.
  • She comes from a family of actors considered Hollywood royalty.

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.

“Augmented reality could end up looking a lot like the royalty layer in smartphones, where a small set of IP owners extract value from a much larger hardware ecosystem,” Boloor said.

From Barron's • Mar. 31, 2026

Regardless, Shulman’s critics say Suno-generated songs are flooding music streaming platforms and diluting the royalty pool for those same artists.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 28, 2026

Shi previously worried about various royalty increases, but noted that Arm was able to positively surprise him with the results of those moves, as there was “little customer backlash.”

From MarketWatch • Mar. 26, 2026

Gellar is television royalty, and as such, fans will watch her in just about anything.

From Salon • Mar. 26, 2026

"When they were our guests back home, we treated them like royalty."

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez

From Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.