variants also apanage
Definition of appanagenext
1
as in privilege
something granted as a special favor use of the grounds was just one appanage he bestowed upon the caretakers of his estate

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

2
as in right
something to which one has a just claim wealthy people who believe that political power is their natural appanage

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of appanage For everyday purposes, however, Halkbank is a semi-independent appanage of the Turkish government. — Matt Ford, The New Republic, 18 Jan. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for appanage
Noun
  • Advertisement The revolution still to come At the heart of the French Revolution of 1789 was the abolition of the privileges of the aristocracy and clergy.
    — Nicholas Bequelin, Time, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Ah, to be a jaded 13-year-old who’s not always aware of his privilege.
    — Jeanne Bonner, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Many of his domestic critics have faulted him for prolonging the war in Gaza to appease his far-right allies, and for permitting ultra-Orthodox Jews to forgo military service to appease that sizable religious voter bloc.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Ellison fils’s most high-profile hiring decision was to enlist Bari Weiss—the former Times Opinion editor and founder of the center-right publication The Free Press—as editor-in-chief of CBS News.
    — Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Lurie was former policy chief for Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who made tackling prerogative and spurring housing and other business projects on the South and West sides a priority and was sometimes stymied by pushback from aldermen.
    — A.D. Quig, Chicago Tribune, 13 Oct. 2026
  • The evening was beautiful, strange, and so far removed from the prerogatives of retail as to suggest that its entire purpose was not to have one.
    — Lauren Collins, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Appanage.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/appanage. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

More from Merriam-Webster on appanage

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!