Privilege Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

: a right or immunity granted as a peculiar benefit, advantage, or favor : prerogative

especially : such a right or immunity attached specifically to a position or an office

transitive verb

2

: to accord a higher value or superior position to privilege one mode of discourse over another

Synonyms

Example Sentences

Noun It is evolving into an elite institution, open chiefly to the well-educated few. In short, marriage is becoming yet another form of privilege . — Barbara Dafoe Whitehead , Commonweal , 2 Dec. 2005 The oldest of the students, she had become a confidante of Fern's and she alone was allowed to call her by her first name. It was not a privilege the others coveted. — Edward P. Jones , The Known World , 2003 But the two were grown in the same petri dish of power, prep school and privilege . — Howard Fineman , Newsweek , 16 Oct. 2000 Good health care should be a right and not a privilege. We had the privilege of being invited to the party. I had the privilege of knowing your grandfather. He lived a life of wealth and privilege. Verb The new tax laws unfairly privilege the rich. only professionals who meet the education and experience requirements set by law are privileged to use the title “interior designer” in Oklahoma See More Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The privilege — written into the U.S. and California constitutions as well as the San Diego City Charter — often means that politicians must listen at public meetings while they are challenged over decisions like new taxes or development projects. — San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Dec. 2022 Still, the right to vote remained a white, male privilege for decades. — Brittny Mejiastaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 22 Dec. 2022 And the privilege of advising seven Presidents of the United States over almost 40 years. — Alice Park, Time, 20 Dec. 2022 During the one-hour conversation moderated by writer Pamela Cohn, Jain discussed her body of work, which looks at cultural constructs such as privilege, caste, class and gender, revealing their ubiquity in contemporary Indian society. — Addie Morfoot, Variety, 15 Nov. 2022 On July 14th, the Romanovs had unexpectedly been allowed the special privilege of a service, conducted for them at the Ipatiev House by a local priest, Father Ivan Storozhev. — Caroline Hallemann, Town & Country, 14 Nov. 2022 Until the pandemic struck, this shrine to privilege, paranoia, and American ingenuity sat mostly empty, providing abstract peace of mind to faraway owners. — Jenna Russell, BostonGlobe.com, 27 Oct. 2022 Glose’s book is a privilege to read, a tribute to his comrades in war and peace, a divulgence of truth that gives necessary attention to veterans and their families. — Stefanie Milligan, The Christian Science Monitor, 19 Oct. 2022 But the prospect of being in the minority can suddenly make white identity — and all the historical privilege that comes with it — salient. — Rayna Reid Rayford, Essence, 11 Oct. 2022

Verb

Later on in his piece, Cronon writes: Without our quite realizing it, wilderness tends to privilege some parts of nature at the expense of others. — Keith Kloor, Discover Magazine, 29 July 2011 Such provocative claims fly in the face of long-standing paradigms, many of which continue to privilege Anglophone actors. — Ned Blackhawk, Washington Post, 4 Oct. 2022 And their rules often privilege those already in power. — T.c. Sottek, The Verge, 7 Jan. 2021 Once again false narratives of Indian history are at play, narratives that privilege the majority and oppress minorities, and these narratives, let it be said, are popular, just as the Russian tyrant’s lies are believed. — Lauren Markham, Harper’s Magazine , 20 July 2022 In refusing to privilege human drama over natural processes, Hildyard captures the ecosystem’s delicate interconnectedness and suggests a new way of writing about our toll on the environment. — The New Yorker, 15 Aug. 2022 Although there’s no real reason to situate north at the top of maps, this eventually became the norm — explained in part by European mapmakers wanting to privilege their own positions in the world. — Nancy Lord, Anchorage Daily News, 23 July 2022 And the commitment went beyond a single show — part of Nicola’s belief that directors are equal partners with playwrights in an American theater system that tends to privilege the latter. — New York Times, 13 July 2022 Continuing to privilege bigger firms and more established technology could hit extra hard as the Federal Reserve continues to raise interest rates in the name of combating inflation. — Kate Aronoff, The New Republic, 22 June 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'privilege.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin privilegium law for or against a private person, from privus private + leg-, lex law

First Known Use

Noun

12th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of privilege was in the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near privilege

Cite this Entry

“Privilege.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/privilege. Accessed 11 Jan. 2023.

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Last Updated: 27 Dec 2022 - Updated example sentences

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