sovereign

(sŏv'ər-ĭn, sŏv'rĭn)
n.

1. One that exercises supreme, permanent authority, especially in a nation or other governmental unit, as:
   1. A king, queen, or other noble person who serves as chief of state; a ruler or monarch.
   2. A national governing council or committee.
2. A nation that governs territory outside its borders.
3. A gold coin formerly used in Great Britain.

adj.

1. Self-governing; independent: a sovereign state.
2. Having supreme rank or power: a sovereign prince.
3. Paramount; supreme: Her sovereign virtue is compassion.
4. 1. Of superlative strength or efficacy: a sovereign remedy.
   2. Unmitigated: sovereign contempt.

[Middle English soverain, from Old French, from Vulgar Latin *superānus, from Latin super, above.]

sovereignly sov'er·eign·ly adv.

View more Law & Legal Issues videos

adjective

Having political independence: autonomous, free, independent, self-governing. See dependence/independence, free/unfree.

adj

Definition: dominant, effective
Antonyms: ineffective, inferior, submissive, subservient, useless

n

Definition: person in total control
Antonyms: servant

[ܒsävrǝn]

ˈsäv (ǝ)rǝn n. a supreme ruler, especially a monarch.

adj.

1. possessing supreme or ultimate power: in modern democracies the people's will is in theory sovereign.

2. (of a nation or state) fully independent and determining its own affairs: a sovereign, democratic republic.

3. (of affairs) subject to a specified state's control without outside interference.

sovereignly adv.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

That which is preeminent among all others. 1 Bl. Comm.
*241. For instance, in a monarchy, the king as sovereign has absolute power, while in a democracy, the people have the sovereign power. Blackstone, the eighteenth century legal theorist, defined sovereign power to mean “the making of laws.” 1 Bl. Comm. *49. In ancient England, the king’s word was law, in today’s democratic governments, the law-making function has been taken over by representative bodies such as Congress. Other incidents of sovereignty in addition to lawmaking power are sovereign immunity, which prohibits lawsuits against the sovereign without its permission, and eminent domain , which allows the sovereign to take private property and put it to public use.

IN BRIEF: Supreme. Also: Not controlled by others.

The sovereign invigorator of the body is exercise, and of all the exercises walking is the best. — Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826).

LearnThatWord.com is a free vocabulary and spelling program where you only pay for results!

For a list of words related to sovereign, see:

• Government Officials and Citizens - sovereign: one exercising absolute power; monarch
• Titles of Rank - sovereign: one exercising supreme power in specific sphere; monarch, ruler, or king
• Money, Currency, and Denominations - sovereign: former British gold coin valued at twenty shillings or one pound
• Respectful or Admiring Reference
• Special, Bright, Skillful, or Unusual

---

See words rhyming with "sovereign."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Sovereign.

Common misspelling(s) of sovereign

• soverign

Dansk (Danish)
n. - hersker, monark, regerende fyrste, sovereign (mønt), pund sterling
adj. - suveræn, øverst, meget effektiv

Nederlands (Dutch)
soeverein, heerser, vorst(in)

Français (French)
n. - souverain, (Hist) souverain
adj. - souverain, absolu, de souveraineté, souverain (une indifférence, un mépris)

Deutsch (German)
n. - Souverän, Landesherr, 20-Schilling-Münze
adj. - souverän, unumschränkt, äußerst

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - ανώτατος άρχων, ηγεμόνας, μονάρχης, κυρίαρχο σώμα, χρυσή λίρα
adj. - κυρίαρχος, αυτοκέφαλος, ύπατος, υπέρτατος, (καθομ.) αποτελεσματικότατος

Italiano (Italian)
sovrano

Português (Portuguese)
n. - soberano (m), rei (m), monarca
adj. - independente, principal, supremo (m)

Русский (Russian)
суверен, монарх, повелитель, носитель верховной власти, верховный орган (государства), диктатор, непререкаемый авторитет, соверен (золотая монета), верховный, суверенный, превосходный, надменный

Español (Spanish)
n. - monarca
adj. - soberano, independiente

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - regent, monark, härskare, härskarinna
adj. - sovereign, högsta, suverän, ofelbar

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
皇帝, 君主, 金磅, 至高无上的, 独立自主的, 君主的

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 皇帝, 君主, 金磅
adj. - 至高無上的, 獨立自主的, 君主的

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 통치자, 독립국, (옛 영국의) 1파운드 금화
adj. - 군주 주권주의의, 독립한, 최대한의

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 主権者, 元首, 君主, ソヴリン
adj. - 主権を有する, 独立の, 最上の, 特効のある

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) جنيه أنكليزي ذهبي, ملكه, ملك, عاهل (صفه) فعال, ممتاز, رئيسي, مستقل, مطلق‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮שליט, מלך, מטבע-זהב‬
adj. - ‮ריבוני, סוברני, עצמאי, מצויין, יעיל‬

If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.

To select your translation preferences click here.