privilege
part of speech
noun (a privilege, privileges); verb (privilege, privileges, privileged, privileging)
meaning for a pupil
1) A special right or advantage that only some people have. tree →
2) Something that makes you feel honoured and lucky: «It was a privilege to meet her.» tree →
3) An advantage some people have in life because of money, family or where they were born. tree →
4) (law) A legal right, such as keeping some talk secret. tree →
5) verb To treat one person or thing as more important than others. tree →
sense in the lessons
At school, privileges are rewards: staying in at break, being a monitor, golden time; bad behaviour can mean losing privileges. In ethics, pupils talk about privilege and fairness. Phrases: «lose your privileges», «an honour and a privilege», «a privileged background», «screen privileges».
examples
- Year 6 pupils have the privilege of using the big field. tree →
- If you misbehave, you will lose your screen privileges. tree →
- It was a privilege to sing in the cathedral. tree →
- Driving is a privilege, not a right. tree →
- Some children grow up with more privilege than others. tree →
- The headteacher said it was a privilege to lead our school. tree →
- The prefects' privileges include their own common room. tree →
- Prisoner though he was, the King of the Sheep had still some powers and privileges. tree →
note
Spelling trap: privi-LEGE, no «d» (not «priviledge»). Countable for special rights; uncountable for advantage in life. Adjective «privileged» (lucky, with advantages). A privilege can be taken away; a right should not be.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «privilege» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.