sovereign

American  

[sov-rin, sov-er-in, suhv-] / ˈsɒv rɪn, ˈsɒv ər ɪn, ˈsʌv- /

noun

1. a monarch; a king, queen, or other supreme ruler.

   Synonyms:

   potentate, empress, emperor

2. a person who has supreme power or authority.

3. a group or body of persons or a state having sovereign authority.

   Synonyms:

   government

4. a gold coin of the United Kingdom, equal to one pound sterling: went out of circulation after 1914.

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adjective

1. belonging to or characteristic of a sovereign or sovereign authority; royal.

   Synonyms:

   queenly, kingly, monarchical, princely, imperial, majestic, regal

2. having supreme rank, power, or authority.

3. supreme; preeminent; indisputable.

   a sovereign right.

   Synonyms:

   predominant, principal, paramount, chief

4. greatest in degree; utmost or extreme.

5. being above all others in character, importance, excellence, etc.

6. efficacious; potent.

   a sovereign remedy.

   Synonyms:

   effectual, effective

sovereign British  

/ ˈsɒvrɪn /

noun

1. a person exercising supreme authority, esp a monarch

2. a former British gold coin worth one pound sterling

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adjective

1. supreme in rank or authority

   a sovereign lord

2. excellent or outstanding

   a sovereign remedy

3. of, relating to, or characteristic of a sovereign

4. independent of outside authority

   a sovereign state

Other Word Forms

• nonsovereign noun
• nonsovereignly adverb
• quasi-sovereign adjective
• sovereignly adverb
• subsovereign noun
• supersovereign adjective
• undersovereign noun
• unsovereign adjective

Etymology

Origin of sovereign

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English soverain, altered by influence of reign, from Old French soverain, from Vulgar Latin superānus (unrecorded), equivalent to Latin super- super- + -ānus -an

Example Sentences

In his letter on Monday, Dimon flagged high global sovereign deficits and debt and ongoing worries about private credit as other large risks that pose a threat to the market.

From Barron's • Apr. 6, 2026

The Ministry of Finance is scheduled to hold two auctions during the week, selling about 600 billion yen of 30-year JGBs on Tuesday and around 2.5 trillion yen of five-year sovereign notes on Thursday.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

The latter charge, comprising a breach of allegiance owed to a sovereign or state, was crucial because it was not subject to reprieve or commutation by the governor without consent of the Legislature.

From Slate • Apr. 2, 2026

Renting out hardware will also allow Oracle to expand into higher-margin niches such as sovereign cloud, which involves building localized data centers for national governments.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 30, 2026

Hobbes’s point is not that expertise is whatever the sovereign says it is; it is that non-experts can be competent to select experts.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Related Words

• absolute
• autonomous
• unlimited