sovereign
Americannoun
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sovereigns
plural
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a monarch; a king, queen, or other supreme ruler.
-
a person who has supreme power or authority.
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a group or body of persons or a state having sovereign authority.
- Synonyms:
- government
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a gold coin of the United Kingdom, equal to one pound sterling: went out of circulation after 1914.
adjective
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belonging to or characteristic of a sovereign or sovereign authority; royal.
-
having supreme rank, power, or authority.
-
supreme; preeminent; indisputable.
a sovereign right.
- Synonyms:
- predominant, principal, paramount, chief
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greatest in degree; utmost or extreme.
-
being above all others in character, importance, excellence, etc.
-
efficacious; potent.
a sovereign remedy.
noun
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a person exercising supreme authority, esp a monarch
-
a former British gold coin worth one pound sterling
adjective
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supreme in rank or authority
a sovereign lord
-
excellent or outstanding
a sovereign remedy
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of, relating to, or characteristic of a sovereign
-
independent of outside authority
a sovereign state
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nonsovereignnoun
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subsovereignnoun
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undersovereignnoun
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quasi-sovereignadjective
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supersovereignadjective
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unsovereignadjective
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nonsovereignlyadverb
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sovereignlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of sovereign
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English soverain, altered by influence of reign, from Old French soverain, from Vulgar Latin superānus (unrecorded), equivalent to Latin super- super- + -ānus -an
Explanation
Put simply, your sovereign is your king or queen. George III was the sovereign of Great Britain and her colonies — including the American ones. At least he was until a little thing called the Revolutionary War upset everything. Sovereign as an adjective can be used to indicate the ultimate power of a state, whether a monarchy or not, as in "Peru exercised its sovereign rights to all minerals within its borders." A sovereign is also a British gold coin with a face value of one pound sterling (with the monarch's face on it). But don't sell it for a pound, because it's worth its weight in gold — quite literally — which is a lot more than a pound is worth.
Vocabulary lists containing sovereign
"On Women's Right to Vote" by Susan B. Anthony
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American Born Chinese
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Chains
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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.
See Examples For:
The country is "perfectly situated to build in the new global economic order", he told more than 100 global investors and sovereign wealth fund representatives gathered in Toronto for a major investment summit.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
Today’s focus may also be on Japanese Finance Ministry’s auction of about 2.5 trillion yen of five-year sovereign notes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
"Proudly we are a free, independent, and sovereign nation," she wrote on social media.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
"It is well known that in January 2020 the Duke and Duchess stepped down from undertaking representative duties on behalf of the sovereign, and are no longer working members of the royal family," it said.
From Barron's ● Sep. 7, 2026
In 1096 Tilantongo's sovereign died in mysterious circumstances.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Normally a potential reluctance among those three sovereigns to buy U.S.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026
One-time “fragile five” sovereigns like South Africa or Turkey have gotten their houses substantially in order in recent years.
From Barron's ● Apr. 20, 2026
Tim Ash, senior strategist at RBC Bluebay Asset Management, pointed out in a posting on X, that sovereigns do not request swap lines lightly.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 20, 2026
Spreads on the best-rated Middle Eastern 10-year dollar-denominated sovereigns were as much as 15 basis points wider early last week before moving back down Thursday.
From Barron's ● Mar. 9, 2026
The stranger drew out a leather pouch and shook ten gold sovereigns from it onto the table.
From "The Shakespeare Stealer" by Gary L. Blackwood
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.
