Did you know?
Sovereign Power
Sovereign has everything to do with power. It often describes a person who has supreme power or authority, such as a king or queen. God is described as "sovereign" in a number of Bible translations. In addition to describing ones who have power, the word sovereign also often describes power: to have sovereign power is to have absolute power—that is, power that cannot be checked by anyone or anything. Nations and states are also sometimes described as "sovereign." This means that they have power over themselves; their government is under their own control, rather than under the control of an outside authority.
Sovereign can also be a synonym of supreme as in "of the most exalted kind." In that case, the power is figurative rather than literal.
Synonyms
Noun
Adjective
Examples of sovereign in a Sentence
Raquel Cepeda, Vibe, May 1999
During these two centuries the throne of Scotland was occupied by no more than seven sovereigns of only four different generations.
—G. W. S. Barrow, The Anglo-Norman Era In Scottish History, 1980
after the current sovereign dies, the monarchy may be abolished
Adjective
Local officials and a huge and enthusiastic crowd greeted Napoleon at the Portoferraio harbor. The Allies had granted him the title of Emperor of Elba, which was to be a sovereign state under his jurisdiction.
—David Pryce-Jones, National Review, 4 July 2005
If Cleopatra VII used her own personality more like Elizabeth I than Elizabeth II, she seems to have had the latter Elizabeth's sovereign sense of duty—as well as her fertility: With a dispatch usually associated with the gods, Cleopatra bore Caesar a son called Caesarion—"little Caesar"—in 47 B.C.E., the year after they met (she was twenty-one, he fifty-two).
—Ingrid D. Rowland, New Republic, 1 & 8 April 2002
the sovereign power of a king
The government's sovereign duty is to protect the rights of its citizens.
Eben Novy-Williams, Sportico.com, 20 June 2024
Membership within the Order of the Garter is exclusive to the monarch, who is the sovereign of the Order of the Garter, several members of the royal family and 24 knights selected in honor of their public work or personal service to the sovereign.
—Janine Henni, Peoplemag, 17 June 2024
Daniel Depetris, Chicago Tribune, 18 June 2024
Called limited partners, these are the managers of pensions, sovereign wealth funds and other giant pools of money that want to tap into the tech market.
—Sam Dean, Los Angeles Times, 16 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for sovereign 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sovereign.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near sovereign
Cite this Entry
“Sovereign.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sovereign. Accessed 27 Jun. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
sovereign
1 of 2 noun
sovereign
2 of 2 adjectiveMedical Definition
sovereign
adjective
Legal Definition
sovereign
1 of 2 nounAlden v. Maine, 527 U.S. 706 (1999)sovereign
2 of 2 adjective
Share