monarch
Americannoun
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a hereditary sovereign, as a king, queen, or emperor.
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a sole and absolute ruler of a state or nation.
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a person or thing that holds a dominant position.
a monarch of international shipping.
noun
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a sovereign head of state, esp a king, queen, or emperor, who rules usually by hereditary right
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a supremely powerful or pre-eminent person or thing
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Also called: milkweed. a large migratory butterfly, Danaus plexippus, that has orange-and-black wings and feeds on the milkweed plant: family Danaidae
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of monarch
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Middle French monarche, monarch, from Late Latin monarcha, from Greek mónarchos “sole ruler, monarch”; see mon-, -arch
Explanation
If you think the Queen of England is just the coolest thing ever, then you like monarchs: hereditary rulers of countries usually known as king or queen. You might think your principal rules with absolute power, but that's not really true: there's a school board and an administration and she can't really control everything. But a monarch can. Monarch comes from the Greek mono, "one," and archon, "ruler." Many modern monarchies actually have parliaments and constitutions, leaving the monarch more symbolic than powerful. A monarch is also a particularly royal looking butterfly with orange wings and black and white spots.
Vocabulary lists containing monarch
Play by the Rules: Arch
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"Black Panther" Lingo
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Christmas Carol Vocab: A Lyrical Lexicon
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The King's mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, paid a state visit to Ireland in 2011, the first by a British monarch since Irish independence.
From BBC • May 19, 2026
And only DeMichelle’s Marguerite has the necessary command to bring this obstreperous monarch to heel.
From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2026
Despite its name, the King's Speech is not written by the monarch but by the government, which uses it to detail the laws it proposes over the next 12 months.
From Barron's • May 13, 2026
It marks the King's first visit to a British overseas territory as monarch.
From BBC • May 1, 2026
Jefferson’s initial draft of the Declaration of Independence had included language that described the slave trade as the perverse plot of an evil English monarch designed to contaminate innocent colonists.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
