monarch

[ mon-erk, -ahrk ]

noun

1. a hereditary sovereign, as a king, queen, or emperor.
2. a sole and absolute ruler of a state or nation.
3. a person or thing that holds a dominant position:

   a monarch of international shipping.

4. monarch butterfly.

monarch

/ mɒˈnɑːkəl; ˈmɒnək; mɒˈnɑːkɪəl /

noun

1. a sovereign head of state, esp a king, queen, or emperor, who rules usually by hereditary right
2. a supremely powerful or pre-eminent person or thing
3. Also calledmilkweed a large migratory butterfly, Danaus plexippus, that has orange-and-black wings and feeds on the milkweed plant: family Danaidae

Derived Forms

• ˈmonarchism, noun
• moˈnarchical, adjective
• ˈmonarchist, nounadjective
• moˈnarchically, adverb
• moˈnarchally, adverb
• monarchal, adjective
• ˌmonarˈchistic, adjective

Other Words From

• anti·monarch adjective noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of monarch¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Middle French monarche, monarch, from Late Latin monarcha, from Greek mónarchos “sole ruler, monarch”; mon-, -arch

Word History and Origins

Origin of monarch¹

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

Example Sentences

Milkweed plants are the one food on which monarch caterpillars dine.

From Science News For Students

These fall monarchs don’t mate or lay eggs like the summer ones.

From Science News For Students

For both groups, fewer monarchs have been arriving at their winter homes than a few decades ago.

From Science News For Students

Many people are planting milkweed plants to feed monarch caterpillars.

From Science News For Students

That way your gardens can host milkweeds without accidentally harming monarch caterpillars.

From Science News For Students

Recently the French treated her virtually as their own monarch while simultaneously jeering their own president.

From The Daily Beast

Fifteen years later, King Felipe I of Redonda was crowned and ruled as an absolute monarch.

From The Daily Beast

The monarch, the consummate PR, the head of the nation, had been supremely outplayed on her home territory.

From The Daily Beast

Monarch didn't get distracted but carried right on with her speech.

From The Daily Beast

Pro that she is the monarch didn't get distracted but carried right on with her speech.

From The Daily Beast

In a warlike age this peacefulness of a monarch was the great and supernatural phenomenon.

From Project Gutenberg

This was my sincere endeavor, in those many discourses I had with that monarch, although it unfortunately failed of success.

From Project Gutenberg

The new monarch, with his striking personality and good looks, at once captivated the hearts of his fickle Southern subjects.

From Project Gutenberg

This loss, more than anything else, brought home to the monarch his pitiable condition.

From Project Gutenberg

An insolent overbearing steward had reigned absolute monarch of the soil, during a long period of fifteen years.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• emperor
• king
• queen
• sovereign