reign

[ reyn ]

/ reɪn /

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See synonyms for: reign / reigning on Thesaurus.com

noun

the period during which a sovereign occupies the throne.

royal rule or authority; sovereignty.

dominating power or influence: the reign of law.

verb (used without object)

to possess or exercise sovereign power or authority.

to hold the position and name of sovereign without exercising the ruling power.

to have control, rule, or influence of any kind.

to predominate; be prevalent.

OTHER WORDS FOR reign

2 dominion, suzerainty.

4 rule, govern, prevail.

See synonyms for reign on Thesaurus.com

OPPOSITES FOR reign

4 obey.

See antonyms for reign on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of reign

First recorded in 1225–75; Middle English noun reine, regne, from Old French reigne, from Latin regnum “realm, reign,” derivative of reg- (stem of rēx ) “king”; Middle English verb reinen, regnen, from Old French reignier, from Latin regnāre, derivative of regnum

OTHER WORDS FROM reign

in·ter·reign, verb (used without object)non·reign·ing, adjectiveoutreign, verb (used with object)un·reign·ing, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH reign

rain, reign , rein

Words nearby reign

Reidsville, reif, reification, reify, Reigate, reign, reignite, Reign of Terror, Reik, reiki, reimagine

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use reign in a sentence

Now hackers are trying to turn the extensive surveillance state against Lukashenko to end his reign—and to do it, they claim to have pulled off one of the most comprehensive hacks of a country in history.
Hackers are trying to topple Belarus’s dictator, with help from the inside|Patrick Howell O'Neill|August 26, 2021|MIT Technology Review
Morey hopes that, perhaps within a few decades, the null ritual’s reign of errors will end.
How the strange idea of ‘statistical significance’ was born|Bruce Bower|August 12, 2021|Science News
Kim Jong Un “seems to have resumed a reign of terror by purging scores of officials over his own disastrous failings amid a growing food shortage,” said the conservative Chosun Ilbo, South Korea’s biggest-selling newspaper.
New Kim Jong Un Purge Suggests North Korea Is in Deep Shit|Donald Kirk|July 9, 2021|The Daily Beast
The vision, he says, is to challenge the reign of fossil fuels.
A tweaked yeast can make ethanol from cornstalks and a harvest’s other leftovers|Nikk Ogasa|July 7, 2021|Science News

Victoria married her personal trainer and after her future reign as queen, her title will pass to their daughter, Princess Estelle.
Badass Royal Women You Need to Know|Sean Culligan|July 1, 2021|Ozy
Little did she know that Netanyahu was not about to give her free reign in the negotiations.
Goodbye to Israel’s Lousy Government (Let’s Hope the Next One Isn’t Worse)|Alon Ben-Meir|December 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“I think Sex Ed is equally, if not more, important than mathematics or English,” says Reign.
The Next Frontier of Sex Ed: How Porn Twists Teens’ Brains|Aurora Snow|November 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And that is an awful lot less bloody than what happened during the Reign of Terror.
Napoleon Was a Dynamite Dictator|J.P. O’Malley|November 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
However it is that she got there, we know the reign of the tyrants at Grady Memorial is coming to a close.
The Walking Dead’s ‘Slabtown’: The Real Source of Terror Isn’t Walkers, It’s Rape|Melissa Leon|November 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
NYC is having its worst year in restaurant closures, and only one thing is certain: its epicurean reign is in trouble.
High Rents Are Killing the Restaurant Capital|Will Doig|October 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
His lordship during the earlier part of his reign never came near Walls End Castle.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
Long before that, however, the sun had come back to gladden the Polar regions, and break up the reign of ancient night.
The Giant of the North|R.M. Ballantyne
In the reign of some of the English kings the demolition of such houses would not have been adjudged treason.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell
Your covetous wish that you and your daughter should reign at Hartledon is on the point of being gratified.
Elster's Folly|Mrs. Henry Wood
Their conference was short; but it implied to Louis, that his delegated reign, as well as that of his father, was at an end.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4|Jane Porter

British Dictionary definitions for reign

reign

/ (reɪn) /

noun

the period during which a monarch is the official ruler of a country

a period during which a person or thing is dominant, influential, or powerfulthe reign of violence is over

verb (intr)

to exercise the power and authority of a sovereign

to be accorded the rank and title of a sovereign without having ruling authority, as in a constitutional monarchy

to predominate; prevaila land where darkness reigns

(usually present participle) to be the most recent winner of a competition, contest, etcthe reigning heavyweight champion

Word Origin for reign

C13: from Old French reigne, from Latin rēgnum kingdom, from rēx king

usage for reign

Reign is sometimes wrongly written for rein in certain phrases: he gave full rein (not reign) to his feelings; it will be necessary to rein in (not reign in) public spending

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

reign

OTHER WORDS FOR reign

OPPOSITES FOR reign

Origin of reign

OTHER WORDS FROM reign

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH reign

Words nearby reign

Words related to reign

How to use reign in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for reign

Word Origin for reign

usage for reign