Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A powerful or influential person, especially in business or industry: an oil magnate.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A person of rank; a noble or grandee; a person of note or distinction in any sphere: as, a railroad magnate.
- n. Specifically.
- n. One of the members of the upper house of the Diet of Hungary, called the House (or Table) of Magnates. It comprises certain hereditary peers, high state dignitaries and ecclesiastics, life peers, etc.
Wiktionary
- n. Metal object with flux.
- n. Powerful industrialist; captain of industry.
- n. A person of rank, influence or distinction in any sphere.
GNU Webster's 1913
- A person of rank; a noble or grandee; a person of influence or distinction in any sphere; -- used mostly of prominent business executives.
- One of the nobility, or certain high officers of state belonging to the noble estate in the national representation of Hungary, and formerly of Poland.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a very wealthy or powerful businessman
Etymologies
- From Latin magnum ("great") (Wiktionary)
- From Middle English magnates, magnates, from Late Latin magnātēs, pl. of magnās, magnate, from Latin magnus, great; see meg- in Indo-European roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“To its supporters, who include among others the British Government, which has signed a potentially lucrative contract with Odyssey to salvage a 17th century navy ship called HMS Sussex carrying bullion worth up to £500m, the Nasdaq-listed company, founded by a former advertising executive and a real estate magnate, is a reputable organisation that follows strict archaeological guidelines in its legitimate search for sunken vessels.”
A £200m treasure hunt. Has Odyssey Marine found ‘La Vierge’? : Coin Collecting News
“At about the same time that shipping became a major industry, Bolivian tin magnate, Atenor Patiño, built Las Hadas, as a "playground" for his jet setting friends.”
“Burkle, the supermarket magnate, is a believer in the separation of supermarket and state ( "The first thing they teach you in checkout-counter school," he has said, "is not to talk politics or religion with the customers").”
“Carlos Slim, the telecommunications magnate, is the richest person in Latin America, according to the annual Forbes Magazine list of the world's 500 richest people.”
“He was quite insistent that his school was known as a magnate school.”
“My first two months as a magnate were a great success.”
“Max Brenner is a chocolate 'magnate' from Israel who has set up chocolate concept stores in Australia, UK and South-East Asia.”
“Contarine received a visit from Dean Goldsmith of Cloyne; a kind of magnate in the wide but improvident family connection, throughout which his word was law and almost gospel.”
“While Oliver was thus piping and poetizing at the parsonage, his uncle Contarine received a visit from Dean Goldsmith of Cloyne; a kind of magnate in the wide but improvident family connection, throughout which his word was law and almost gospel.”
“Cloyne; a kind of magnate in the wide but improvident family connection, throughout which his word was law and almost gospel.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘magnate’.
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Test Prep or Just for fun
Building a list for standardized test prep or just for learning some new words! Please add any words that you feel are important for the SAT/GRE/GMAT etc...
throng, morass, parley, facile, kismet, strife, jetsam, carrion, annex, harbinger, vestige, surreptitious and 575 more...
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POL - people in power
daredevil, tzar, king, boss, master, commander, chief, kingpin, top banana, bigwig, big cheese, big wheel and 452 more...
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
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GRE 2014
abase, abate, abdicate, aberrant, abeyance, abhor, abjure, abortive, abound, abrasive, abreast, abridge and 1577 more...
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people (good)
nouns for good people / words that describe good people.
go to the bad people list
( people, character, descriptor, noun )philanthropist, angel, environmentalist, activist, advocate, volunteer, hero, parent, friend, virtuoso, gentleman, helper and 62 more...
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A _____ walks into a bar...
horse, bear, termite, grasshopper, panda, cowboy, guy with a chunk ..., duck, talking dog, guy with a toad o..., guy, blind man and 74 more...
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man gre
abase, abeyance, abreast, abscission, abscond, abyss, accede, accretion, acerbic, acidulous, acumen, adulterate and 483 more...
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big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6691 more...
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gre2
aberrant, aberration, aboveboard, abrasive, abstemious, acme, admonish, affable, affluent, alacrity, allegory, alleviate and 1908 more...
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inkhorn's Words
inkhorn, aplomb, apotheosis, asinine, avatar, bombastic, boorish, bromide, bucolic, cagey, canvass, digress and 991 more...
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enjoidooks's Words
rastafari, facetious, desultory, dubiously, ineluctable, incarnadine, diapason, alembic, empathy, feckless, transcendence, thus and 190 more...
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ADW2
nudnik, temper, intercalate, cleave, scowl, chapfallen, malapropos, disport, annals, paean, paradisiacal, whet and 362 more...
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parlerodermime's Words
loquacious, orange, lackadaisical, rhythm, esoterrorist, contrary, enchanted, extraordinary, nymph, chatter, incessant, time and 168 more...
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Forgotten Tribes of Europe
Many of these names are Greek or Roman in origin. Early states often named neighbouring ethnic groups after the first person to record them or, absent that, the nearest city or geographic region. S...
gauls, visigoths, scythians, carthaginians, picts, huns, ancalites, attacotti, atrebates, autini, belgae, bibroci and 320 more...
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stpeter's Words
abase, abasement, abashed, abdicate, aberrant, abeyance, abhor, abhorrent, abide, abject, ablation, abnegation and 3536 more...
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lanklenmot's Words
ineluctable, prelapsarian, bien pensant, prospero, preternatural, gratifying, iconoclast, cineast, persnickety, tumescent, galvanize, pap and 887 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for magnate.

fbharjo to see what the attraction is???? Nov 1, 2008