as in ruler
one who rules over a people with a sole, supreme, and usually hereditary authority
Charles inherited the position of potentate of the Holy Roman Empire from his grandfather, as well that of king of Spain from his father
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Recent Examples of potentate
With the pandemic, the year-round population of a once-seasonal resort town swelled with Manhattan refugees, those in the Trump orbit, and tech and finance potentates, many of them serious collectors like Ken Griffin and Steve Ross.
—
Ben Widdicombe,
Vulture,
12 May 2025
But in his mid-80s, King George ponders whether to abdicate and devote his remaining days to finding female companionship (the aging potentate remains potent with the help of Viagra and similar pharmaceuticals).
—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
5 May 2025
The cover of the first issue of The New Yorker, dated Feb. 21, 1925, carried no portraits of potentates or tycoons, no headlines, no come-ons.
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Christopher B. Daly,
The Conversation,
11 Feb. 2025
Or were all those billionaire potentates in the Capitol Rotunda — seated in front of Trump’s Cabinet picks — asserting their social, economic and cultural hegemony?
—
Mark Z. Barabak,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for potentate
Ben Widdicombe,
Vulture,
12 May 2025
But in his mid-80s, King George ponders whether to abdicate and devote his remaining days to finding female companionship (the aging potentate remains potent with the help of Viagra and similar pharmaceuticals).
—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
5 May 2025
The cover of the first issue of The New Yorker, dated Feb. 21, 1925, carried no portraits of potentates or tycoons, no headlines, no come-ons.
—
Christopher B. Daly,
The Conversation,
11 Feb. 2025
Or were all those billionaire potentates in the Capitol Rotunda — seated in front of Trump’s Cabinet picks — asserting their social, economic and cultural hegemony?
—
Mark Z. Barabak,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for potentate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for potentate
Noun
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Mnangagwa has been in power since 2017, when the military backed the ouster of his mentor and Zimbabwe's longtime ruler, Robert Mugabe, who died in 2019.
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Democracies are composed of citizens with free will, not subjects cowering at the feet of rulers.
Noun
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The British monarch meets with the prime minister every week.
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The Dutch monarchs, who were joined by their daughter Princess Ariane, began the day by watching Holland rout Sweden 5-1 in a Group F match.
Noun
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The high seas have no sovereign who can demand accountability, concluded Spalding.
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The question worth watching is whether the Bank of Korea ultimately raises rates, and how much further the bond market has to fall before the two sides of the AI trade, the soaring shares and the sinking sovereign, find a level that can hold.
Cite this Entry
“Potentate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/potentate. Accessed 28 Jun. 2026.
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