state

state

noun

Definition of STATE

1

a body of people composed of one or more nationalities usually with its own territory and government <the British monarch is the head of state, while the prime minister is the head of the government>

Synonyms commonwealth, country, land, sovereignty (also sovranty), state

Related Words city-state, microstate, ministate, nation-state; domain, dominion, empire, kingdom, realm, republic; duchy, dukedom, emirate, principality, seigniory (or seignory), sultanate; democracy, dictatorship, monarchy, monocracy, oligarchy, sovereign (also sovran), theocracy; client state, colony, condominium, dependency, mandate, province, settlement, soil, trust territory; fatherland, homeland, motherland; great power, power, sea power, superpower, world power; welfare state

2

high position within society <Sir Thomas More was accorded an execution befitting his state: a beheading and not the hanging that common criminals received>

Synonyms class, dignity, fashion, quality, standing, state

Related Words gentility, gentleness, nobility, nobleness; grandness, highness, loftiness; distinction, dominance, precedence, preeminence, primacy, superiority; caste, station, status; preferment

Near Antonyms debasement, degradation; subordinateness, subordination; baseness, commonness, inferiority, lowliness, lowness