August Meaning
/ɔːˈɡʌst/Definition, CEFR level A1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjAwe-inspiring, majestic, noble, venerable.
adjOf noble birth.
Sentence Examples
Here it's August and our summer vacation is nearly over.
A party will be held next Saturday, that is to say, on August 25th.
You need to enrol before the end of August.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The judge's ____ presence commanded respect from everyone in the courtroom.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The high mountains looked very ____ in the early morning sunlight.
Word Origin & History
From French auguste (“noble, stately; august”) or Latin augustus (“majestic, venerable, august; imperial, royal”), from augeō (“to augment, increase; to enlarge, expand, spread”). Doublet of August and Augustus.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"In the book of Pſalms there are many things ſaid of David, which ſeem capable of a much auguſter ſenſe than can be pretended to be anſwered by any thing that befel himſelf."
— 1796, Gilbert Bishop of Sarum [i.e., Gilbert Burnet], “Article VII. Of the Old Testament.”, in An Exposition of the XXXIX Articles of the Church of England, Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 123:
"[W]e shall not, I think, be able to find language which can convey in few words more fully the idea we should always have impressed on our minds of the august character of our Lord, than the expression, "the word of life.""
— 1837 August 31, William Sollis, A Sermon, Preached in Holsworthy Church on Thursday, August 31, 1837, at the Anniversaries of the Societies for Promoting Christian Knowledge, and for Propagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts. […], Launceston, Cornwall: Penheale-Press, Rev. H. A. Simcoe, →OCLC, page 7:
"The commands of the august sovereign are the imperial commands, or the phœnix (the incomparable) mandate."
— 1841, E[lijah] C[oleman] Bridgman, “Governmental Affairs”, in A Chinese Chrestomathy in the Canton Dialect, Macao: S[amuel] Wells Williams, →OCLC, section second (Imperial Titles), page 558:
"—Inconsciously to the augustest end / Thou hast arisen: second not in rank / So much as time, to him who first ordained / That Florence, thou art to destroy, should be— […]"
— 1846, Robert Browning, “Luria”, in Bells and Pomegranates, volumes VIII (Luria; and A Soul’s Tragedy), London: Edward Moxon, →OCLC; republished in Poems … In Two Volumes, new edition, volume II, London: Chapman & Hall, […], 1849, →OCLC, act IV, page 192:
"The foolish dog […] flew at the cat, who in her fright and consternation took refuge behind the screen of the breakfast-room where his Majesty then was. The Mikado was greatly shocked and agitated. He took the cat into his august bosom, and summoning the chamberlain Tadataka, gave orders that Okinamaro should have a good thrashing and be banished to Dog Island at once."
— 1899, Sei Shōnagon, “Makura Zōshi [The Attack of the Dog Okinamaro upon the Cat Miyōbu no Otodo]”, in W[illiam] G[eorge] Aston, A History of Japanese Literature, London: William Heinemann, →OCLC, page 111:
Explore More A1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The judge's ____ presence commanded respect from everyone in the courtroom.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The high mountains looked very ____ in the early morning sunlight.