as in monarch
one who rules over a people with a sole, supreme, and usually hereditary authority
the aging ruler agonized over the choice of an heir
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Recent Examples of ruler
Reza Shah Pahlavi, the ruler of Iran before the revolution saw the value of cooperating with Israel for economic and technical reasons.
—
Saleem H. Ali, Forbes.com, 18 June 2025
It was named after Queen Zenobia, the legendary ruler of ancient Palmyra who annexed part of the Roman Empire when the city was a key stop on the Silk Road.
—Jane Arraf, NPR, 11 June 2025
August was all about preparing for the return to school, with popular grocery items including colored pencils, ring binders, index cards, as well as rulers, notebooks, and calculators.
—Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 21 June 2025
Responding to persecution by India’s Mughal rulers—and the torture and execution of his father—Hargobind militarized Sikhism.
—Manvir Singh, New Yorker, 21 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for ruler
Saleem H. Ali, Forbes.com, 18 June 2025
It was named after Queen Zenobia, the legendary ruler of ancient Palmyra who annexed part of the Roman Empire when the city was a key stop on the Silk Road.
—Jane Arraf, NPR, 11 June 2025
August was all about preparing for the return to school, with popular grocery items including colored pencils, ring binders, index cards, as well as rulers, notebooks, and calculators.
—Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 21 June 2025
Responding to persecution by India’s Mughal rulers—and the torture and execution of his father—Hargobind militarized Sikhism.
—Manvir Singh, New Yorker, 21 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for ruler
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ruler
Noun
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However, the long-reigning monarch never wore the Greville tiara in public, likely due to its significant connection to her late mother.—
Meredith Kile,
People.com,
4 July 2025
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The revolutionary focus was, and remains today, on the rights of the individual — not the state, not the monarch, not a corporate entity, not a particular economic or social class, and certainly not the military.—
Arthur I. Cyr,
Chicago Tribune,
2 July 2025
Noun
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Elizabeth also met Trump and Melania on July 13, 2018, at Windsor Castle, where the president made waves by walking in front of the monarch while inspecting the Guard of Honor, widely interpreted as a breach of protocol around the sovereign.—
Simon Perry,
People.com,
25 June 2025
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Rather, he was sent to the island of Elba, where he was allowed to retain the title of emperor and rule the island as a sovereign.—
Oona A. Hathaway,
Foreign Affairs,
24 June 2025
Noun
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But equally recurrent is the West’s broader obsession with her family—Agrippina along with emperors Caligula, Nero, Augustus, and others.—
Literary Hub
June 23,
Literary Hub,
23 June 2025
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Years ago, Hans Christian Andersen told a tale of an emperor who wore no clothes.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
22 June 2025
Noun
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Fought from 1701 to 1714, the conflict centered on who would inherit the Spanish throne after the Habsburg king Charles II died without an heir.—
Aurora Martínez,
Smithsonian Magazine,
23 June 2025
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The Oklahoma City Thunder are the new kings of the NBA.—
Ricardo Klein,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ruler.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ruler. Accessed 8 Jul. 2025.
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