privilege
Syllables: priv·i·legeUK/ˈpɹɪv.(ɪ.)lɪd͡ʒ//ˈpɹɪv.ɪ.lɪd͡ʒ/
privilege noun: an exemption from certain laws granted by the Pope.
Noun
privilege (countable and uncountable, plural privileges)
- An exemption from certain laws granted by the Pope.
- A particular benefit, advantage, or favor; a right or immunity enjoyed by some but not others; a prerogative, preferential treatment.
- All first-year professors here must teach four courses a term, yet you're only teaching one! What entitled you to such a privilege?
- Special privileges should be reserved for family and village life, while steps should be taken to prevent families and family ownings from being broken up by inheritance.2001, Paul H. Kratoska, South East Asia, Colonial History, page 323
- An especially rare or fortunate opportunity; the good fortune (to do something).
- I had the privilege to sit near him in the House for a small part of his Commons service and there was an additional device provided to aid his participation in debates.2012, The Observer, letter, 29 April
- The fact of being privileged; the status or existence of (now especially social or economic) benefit or advantage within a given society.
- People who at any other time would cling like glue to their miserable scraps of privilege, will surrender them fast enough when their country is in danger.1941, George Orwell, The Lion and the Unicorn, Pt. III
- There is no complexity expressed in the feverish discussions of white privilege that periodically grips South Africa's chattering class.2013 October 21, Azad Essa, “South Africa's 'miracle transition' has not put an end to white privilege”, in The Guardian, Guardian Media Group
- A right or immunity enjoyed by a legislative body or its members.
- Dr Grigori Loutchansky is – according to a congressman speaking under congressional privilege – a "purported Russian mob figure".2001, The Guardian, leader, 1 May
- Synonyms:
- immunity
- A stock market option.
- Synonyms:
- stock option
- A common law doctrine that protects certain communications from being used as evidence in court.
- Your honor, my client is not required to answer that; her response is protected by attorney-client privilege.
- An ability to perform an action on the system that can be selectively granted or denied to users.
- Synonyms:
- permission
Verb
privilege (third-person singular simple present privileges, present participle privileging, simple past and past participle privileged)
- To grant some particular right or exemption to; to invest with a peculiar right or immunity; to authorize
- to privilege representatives from arrest
- To bring or put into a condition of privilege or exemption from evil or danger; to exempt; to deliver.
- To prioritize.
- “Rolling Stone” is spacious and ethereal but not directionless — it is R&B that privileges mood over structure, soft daubs of feeling over authoritative belting.2022 July 20, Jon Caramanica, “R&B That Sweats, Emotionally and Physically”, in The New York Times
privilege meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
privilege in Hindi
- विशेषाधिकार
privilege in Tamil
- சிறப்புரிமை, சலுகை
privilege in Marathi
- विशेषाधिकारप्राप्ती
privilege in Urdu
- حق خصوصی, استثنیٰ
More languagesFewer languages
- privilege in Bengali
- বিশেষাধিকার, প্রিভিলেজ, কিছু বিশেষ অধিকার, ছাড় দেওয়া
- privilege in Telugu
- ప్రత్యేక హక్కు pratyēka hakku
- privilege in Malayalam
- പ്രത്യേകാധികാരം, പ്രത്യേകാനുകൂല്യം, വിശേഷാവകാശം
- privilege in Kannada
- ಸವಲತ್ತು savalattu
- privilege in Gujarati
- વિશેષાધિકાર
- privilege in Odia
- ଅଧିକାର adhikāra
- privilege in Sanskrit
- अधिकार adhikāra
- privilege in Tagalog
- pribilehiyo
- privilege in Arabic
- اِمْتِيَاز imtiyāz
- privilege in Malay
- hak istimewa
- privilege in Thai
- สิทธิ sìt-tí
- privilege in Vietnamese
- đặc quyền
Examples of privilege in a sentence
- The principle of least privilege holds that a process should only receive the permissions it needs.
- We are unwilling to restore his previous privileges after his betrayal of our trust.
- They promoted him to supervisor, with all the attendant responsibilities and privileges.
Synonyms of privilege
Forms of privilege
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | privileges |
| alternative form | priviledg |
| alternative form | priviledge |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | privileges |
| present participle | privileging |
| past participle | privileged |
| past | privileged |
Origin of privilege
From Middle English privilege, from Anglo-Norman privilege and Old French privilege, from Latin prīvilēgium (“ordinance or law against or in favor of an individual”), from prīvus (“private”) + lēx, lēg- (“law”). Displaced native Old English frēols (“privilege, immunity”).
Words formed from privilege
- absolute privilege
- attorney-client privilege
- black privilege
- check your privilege
- cis privilege
- cis-privilege
- cisprivilege
- deprivilege
- disprivilege
- executive privilege
- exorbitant privilege
- green privilege
- immune privilege
- immunoprivilege
- jester's privilege
- legal professional privilege
- opinion privilege
- passport privilege
- Pauline privilege
- point of privilege
- pretty privilege
- privilege day
- privilegee
- privilege escalation
- privileger
- privilege walk
- privilegism
- question of privilege
- shopkeeper's privilege
- solicitor-client privilege
- son of privilege
- underprivilege
- viatorial privilege
- water privilege
- white privilege
- white skin privilege
- with privilege
- writ of privilege
Phrases with privilege
Questions about privilege
- What does privilege mean?
- Privilege means an exemption from certain laws granted by the Pope.
- What is privilege in Hindi?
- Privilege in Hindi is विशेषाधिकार. See Privilege meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is privilege?
- Privilege can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce privilege?
- Privilege is pronounced /ˈpɹɪv.(ɪ.)lɪd͡ʒ/ (UK).
- What is the plural of privilege?
- The plural of privilege is privileges.
Words near privilege in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: privilege (page history and authors); privilege (Hindi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); privilege (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); privilege (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); privilege (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); privilege (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); privilege (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ಸವಲತ್ತು (Kannada) (page history and authors); privilege (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); ଅଧିକାର (Odia) (page history and authors); अधिकार (Sanskrit) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-privilege.ogg.
Cite this entry: “privilege.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/privilege. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.