noblesse oblige
2
9.9
- noun
- /noʊˈblɛs əˈbliːʒ/
- Formal
:
nobleza obliga
- He felt that his family background instilled a sense of noblesse oblige, pushing him to help those less fortunate.
- sense of noblesse oblige
- attitude of noblesse oblige
Examples
-
FDR came to office with a hefty degree of noblesse oblige, which served the country well.
Blog text (7) -
The better private institutions, aware of noblesse oblige, will prove kinder than large public institutions to the literary humanities, but even this solicitude will have its limits.
Academic text (2009) -
There is at least one good aspect to noblesse oblige, however.
Academic text (2000) -
There is no suggestion that they did so from a sense of noblesse oblige.
Academic text (1995) -
In whatever case, channels must be opened between the two countries, and the noblesse oblige of Americans put to the test.
Academic text (1995) -
Children took lordship so seriously, naturally believing in noblesse oblige.
Fiction book (2000) -
The point is that if we expect to have flourishing communities, we must have at minimum a sense of noblesse oblige for the poor and vulnerable.
Academic text (2001) -
Thus, the Free and Established churches have supported the hierarchy and the attitude that expects noblesse oblige, the obligation of landlords to deal honorably and fairly with their tenants.
Academic text (1991) -
Both his parents read widely and deeply, especially his mother; they'd take a stab at anything, and they believed in noblesse oblige even though they hadn't really come from the noblesse themselves.
Fiction book (1995) -
As a wealthy philanthropist, she believes that noblesse oblige guides her to support local charities.
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The two constituents literally signal 'nobility' (noblesse) + 'obliges' (creates a duty), so a learner who knows both words can infer the general idea that people of high rank have some duty. However, the item is a formal, lexicalized French phrase in English and carries a specific normative/social nuance (a cultural expectation of generous conduct) that may not be fully predictable to a B1 learner, so it is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Noblesse oblige comes from French and literally says the noblesse, the noble people, are oblige, obliged to help others. Think of old nobles who had power and money and were expected to help the poor, so the phrase now means 'to act with generosity and honor'.