sovereignty

sov·er·eign·ty

noun
\-tē\\ˈsä-v(ə-)rən-tē, -vərn-tē also ˈsə-\

plural sov·er·eign·ties

Definition of SOVEREIGNTY

1

obsolete : supreme excellence or an example of it

2

a : supreme power especially over a body politic b : freedom from external control : autonomy c : controlling influence

3

: one that is sovereign; especially : an autonomous state

Variants of SOVEREIGNTY

sov·er·eign·ty also sov·ran·ty \-tē\ \ˈsä-v(ə-)rən-tē, -vərn-tē also ˈsə-\

Examples of SOVEREIGNTY

1. <upon leaving home she felt that she had achieved sovereignty for the first time in her life>
2. <as parts of the same sovereignty, the states should not enact laws intended to harm one another economically>
3. Nor was the sovereignty of the Native Hawaiian race recognized at the time Hawaii became a state. —Ramesh Ponnuru, National Review, 18 July 2005
4. Cesaire's wrenching chant of self-affirmation announced a new era of intellectual and cultural sovereignty for black writers in French. —Lila Azam Zanganeh, New York Times Book Review, 12 June 2005
5. The position plunged him into a supremely complicated religious and political game. Throughout Europe the old order of divinely sanctioned kingdoms was battling models of popular sovereignty and citizenship inspired by the Enlightenment, the French Revolution and the adolescent U.S. —David Van Biema, Time, 4 Sept. 2000

Origin of SOVEREIGNTY

Middle English soverainte, from Anglo-French sovereinté, from soverein (see ²sovereign)

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to SOVEREIGNTY

Synonyms: autonomy, independence, independency, liberty, self-determination, self-governance, self-government, freedom (also sovranty)

Antonyms: dependence (also dependance), heteronomy, subjection, unfreedom

Related Words: emancipation, enfranchisement, liberation, manumission, release

Near Antonyms: captivity, enchainment, enslavement, immurement, imprisonment, incarceration, internment, subjugation

see all synonyms and antonyms

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Other Government and Politics Terms

agent provocateur, agitprop, autarky, cabal, egalitarianism, federalism, hegemony, plenipotentiary, popular sovereignty, socialism