monarch

[mon-erk, -ahrk]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR monarch ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a hereditary sovereign, as a king, queen, or emperor.

a sole and absolute ruler of a state or nation.

a person or thing that holds a dominant position: a monarch of international shipping.

monarch butterfly.

Origin of monarch

1400–50; late Middle English < Late Latin monarcha < Greek monárchēs sole ruler; see mon-, -arch

Related formsan·ti·mon·arch, adjective, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for monarch

queen, king, emperor, sovereign, majesty, autocrat, prince, empress, potentate, despot, princess

Examples from the Web for monarch

Contemporary Examples of monarch

Recently the French treated her virtually as their own monarch while simultaneously jeering their own president.
Imagining Prince Charles as King Makes All of Britain Wish They Could Leave Like Scotland
Clive Irving
September 17, 2014
The monarch, the consummate PR, the head of the nation, had been supremely outplayed on her home territory.
If Kate Middleton’s Butt Could Speak: It’s Time Royal Princesses Led Visible, Voluble Public Lives
Tim Teeman
June 4, 2014
Monarch didn't get distracted but carried right on with her speech.
Thump! Audible Crash As Queen's Page Boy Collapses At Opening of Parliament
Tom Sykes
June 4, 2014
Pro that she is the monarch didn't get distracted but carried right on with her speech.
Thump! Audible Crash As Queen's Page Boy Collapses At Opening of Parliament
Tom Sykes
June 4, 2014
Juan Carlos is the second European monarch to abdicate in just over a year.
Shock As King Juan Carlos of Spain Abdicates
Tom Sykes
June 2, 2014

Historical Examples of monarch

A difference which increases, rather than diminishes the monarch's authority.
A Theological-Political Treatise [Part IV]
Benedict of Spinoza
She knew where the Monarch butterfly went on his winter migration.
Her Father's Daughter
Gene Stratton-Porter
It was laid by the Monarch, a paddle steamer which had been fitted for the work.
Heroes of the Telegraph
J. Munro
Every day, he ruled the castle and kingdom, as if he had always been the monarch.
Welsh Fairy Tales
William Elliott Griffis
With the Christian monarch, there is no hope of peace or compact.
Leila, Complete
Edward Bulwer-Lytton

British Dictionary definitions for monarch

monarch

noun

a sovereign head of state, esp a king, queen, or emperor, who rules usually by hereditary right

a supremely powerful or pre-eminent person or thing

Also called: milkweed a large migratory butterfly, Danaus plexippus, that has orange-and-black wings and feeds on the milkweed plant: family Danaidae

Derived Formsmonarchal (mɒˈnɑːkəl) or monarchial (mɒˈnɑːkɪəl), adjectivemonarchally, adverbmonarchical or monarchic, adjectivemonarchically, adverbmonarchism, nounmonarchist, noun, adjectivemonarchistic, adjective

Word Origin for monarch

C15: from Late Latin monarcha, from Greek; see mono-, -arch

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for monarch

mid-15c., from Middle French monarque (14c.) or directly from Late Latin monarcha, from Greek monarkhes "one who rules alone" (see monarchy). As a type of large butterfly, from 1890.