variants
or less commonly boyard
: a member of a Russian aristocratic order next in rank below the ruling princes until its abolition by Peter the Great
Examples of boyar in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In times of trouble, the tsar can play the people against the boyars, and vice versa.
—
Keith Gessen, The New Yorker, 1 July 2023
In exchange for the efficiencies of a single market, for example, Europeans have agreed to cede political controls to the boyars of Brussels.
—Peter Rough, National Review, 22 Apr. 2020
These days the boyars serve at his pleasure, just as those beneath them serve at their pleasure and so on all the way down.
—The Economist, 26 Oct. 2017
Power and wealth are concentrated in the hands of aristocratic boyars.
—A. O. Scott, New York Times, 21 Jan. 2016
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Keith Gessen, The New Yorker, 1 July 2023
In exchange for the efficiencies of a single market, for example, Europeans have agreed to cede political controls to the boyars of Brussels.
—Peter Rough, National Review, 22 Apr. 2020
These days the boyars serve at his pleasure, just as those beneath them serve at their pleasure and so on all the way down.
—The Economist, 26 Oct. 2017
Power and wealth are concentrated in the hands of aristocratic boyars.
—A. O. Scott, New York Times, 21 Jan. 2016
Cite this Entry
“Boyar.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/boyar. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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