Meanings
nounnoblesse oblige (uncountable)
- uncountableThe honourable obligation that is the responsibility of those of high rank; in American English this often includes the expectation of benevolent actions such as helping those less fortunate.
Origin
- Frenchnoblesse oblige
- Englishnoblesse oblige
Borrowed from French noblesse oblige (literally “nobility obliges”), primarily used as a phrase. See noblesse and obliger.
More words from French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 貴族義務 /贵族义务
- 貴族義務 /贵族义务 (guìzú yìwù)the honourable obligation that is the responsibility of those of high rank
Czech vznešenost zavazuje
- vznešenost zavazujethe honourable obligation that is the responsibility of those of high rank
Danish adel forpligter
- adel forpligterthe honourable obligation that is the responsibility of those of high rank
Dutch adel verplicht, noblesse oblige
- adel verplichtthe honourable obligation that is the responsibility of those of high rank
- noblesse obligethe honourable obligation that is the responsibility of those of high rank
Estonian noblesse oblige
- noblesse obligethe honourable obligation that is the responsibility of those of high rank
Finnish aateluus velvoittaa
- aateluus velvoittaathe honourable obligation that is the responsibility of those of high rank
French noblesse oblige
- noblesse obligethe honourable obligation that is the responsibility of those of high rank
German Adel verpflichtet
- Adel verpflichtetthe honourable obligation that is the responsibility of those of high rank
Hungarian a nemesség kötelez, a név kötelez
- a nemesség kötelezthe honourable obligation that is the responsibility of those of high rank
- a név kötelezthe honourable obligation that is the responsibility of those of high rank
Indonesian noblesse oblige
- noblesse obligethe honourable obligation that is the responsibility of those of high rank
Italian noblesse oblige
- noblesse obligethe honourable obligation that is the responsibility of those of high rank
Japanese ノブレス・オブリージュ
- ノブレス・オブリージュ (noburesu oburīju)the honourable obligation that is the responsibility of those of high rank
Korean 노블레스 오블리주
- 노블레스 오블리주 (nobeulleseu obeulliju)the honourable obligation that is the responsibility of those of high rank
Norwegian Bokmål adel forplikter
- adel forplikterthe honourable obligation that is the responsibility of those of high rank
Polish szlachectwo zobowiązuje
- szlachectwo zobowiązujethe honourable obligation that is the responsibility of those of high rank
Portuguese noblesse oblige
- noblesse obligethe honourable obligation that is the responsibility of those of high rank
Romanian noblețea obligă
- noblețea obligăthe honourable obligation that is the responsibility of those of high rank
Russian нобле́с обли́ж
- нобле́с обли́ж (noblés oblíž)the honourable obligation that is the responsibility of those of high rank
Spanish nobleza obliga
- nobleza obligathe honourable obligation that is the responsibility of those of high rank
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with noblesse oblige
All rhymes →Cite this entry
APA
noblesse oblige. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/noblesse%20oblige
MLA
“noblesse oblige.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/noblesse%20oblige. Accessed November 5, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “noblesse oblige,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/noblesse%20oblige.
Source: noblesse oblige on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.