ruler

American  

[roo-ler] / ˈru lər /

noun

1. a person who rules or governs; sovereign.

2. Also a strip of wood, metal, or other material having a straight edge and usually marked off in inches or centimeters, used for drawing lines, measuring, etc.

3. a person or thing that rules paper, wood, etc.

4. Astrology. the planet primarily associated with any sign of the zodiac or any house of the horoscope.

   The ruler of Aries is Mars. The ruler of Taurus is Venus.

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ruler British  

/ ˈruːlə /

noun

1. a person who rules or commands

2. Also called: rule.  a strip of wood, metal, or other material, having straight edges graduated usually in millimetres or inches, used for measuring and drawing straight lines

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Other Word Forms

• subruler noun
• underruler noun

Etymology

Origin of ruler

Middle English word dating back to 1325–75; rule, -er ¹

Example Sentences

"When I paint, I'm taken back 500 years, to the streets of Herat back then," when the rulers of the Timurid empire were patrons of artists such as Behzad, Qane said with a smile.

From Barron's

But when young people joined in, the protests morphed into an antiregime uprising that presented the greatest challenge to the country’s Shiite cleric rulers in their almost five decades in power.

From The Wall Street Journal

Since the ousting of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in 2024, the new Syrian authorities have repeatedly vowed to increase electricity production in a country where power cuts can last up to 20 hours a day.

From Barron's

But in a surprise move, Deby ended military cooperation with its former colonial ruler in November 2024 and French troops began leaving the following month.

From Barron's

It is so powerful that being chairman of this body was the single position held by Deng Xiaoping as absolute ruler of China.

From BBC

Related Words

• czar
• emperor
• king
• monarch
• shah
• sultan