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.

Nearby words

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

Examples from the Web for 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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST

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|DAILY BEAST
The monarch was admonished to ask no more, but he disregarded the warning.
The Mysteries of All Nations|James Grant
Strange times, when such things were deemed wonderful—so much so as to merit exhibition before the monarch.
The Queer, the Quaint and the Quizzical|Frank H. Stauffer
Then spake the monarch Gunther: / "How might such thing e'er be?"
The Nibelungenlied|Unknown
His followers begged the monarch to partake of the good things in the garden.
Chatterbox, 1906|Various
“You deserve them all,” exclaimed the Monarch, in the warmth of his emotion.
The Seven Champions of Christendom|W. H. G. Kingston

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 Forms

monarchal (mɒˈnɑːkəl) or monarchial (mɒˈnɑːkɪəl), adjectivemonarchally, adverbmonarchical or monarchic, adjectivemonarchically, adverb

monarchism, 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

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.