1
: a person who reigns over a kingdom or empire: such as
a
: a sovereign ruler
b
: a constitutional (see constitutional entry 1 sense 1) king or queen
2
: one that holds preeminent position or power
Cotton, monarch of the textile world …—
Wall Street Journal
Wall Street JournalSynonyms of monarch
Examples of monarch in a Sentence
a new history of French monarchs
the ruling monarch of Britain at that time was Queen Elizabeth I
Recent Examples on the Web
As Dudayev spoke on a handheld satellite phone with the Moroccan monarch, Russian aircraft waited beyond visual range.
—Robert A. Pape In The Los Angeles Times, Arkansas Online, 3 Mar. 2026
As the regional crisis escalated last month, members of Congress tweeted fond personal reflections on various Gulf monarchs.
—Ben Smith, semafor.com, 2 Mar. 2026
That event restored Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi to the throne and, after the monarch was deposed in the 1979 Islamic revolution, played a central role in the Islamic Republic’s anti-US narrative.
—Jeremy Diamond, CNN Money, 28 Feb. 2026
The 89-year-old monarch was later discharged from the hospital on February 26.
—Rachel Burchfield, InStyle, 26 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for monarch
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Robert A. Pape In The Los Angeles Times, Arkansas Online, 3 Mar. 2026
As the regional crisis escalated last month, members of Congress tweeted fond personal reflections on various Gulf monarchs.
—Ben Smith, semafor.com, 2 Mar. 2026
That event restored Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi to the throne and, after the monarch was deposed in the 1979 Islamic revolution, played a central role in the Islamic Republic’s anti-US narrative.
—Jeremy Diamond, CNN Money, 28 Feb. 2026
The 89-year-old monarch was later discharged from the hospital on February 26.
—Rachel Burchfield, InStyle, 26 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for monarch
Cite this Entry
“Monarch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/monarch. Accessed 8 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
monarch
noun
mon·arch
ˈmän-ərk 
-ˌärk
1
: a person who reigns over a kingdom or empire: as
a
: a ruler who has total power
absolute monarch
b
: someone who acts primarily as chief of state and who has only limited powers
constitutional monarch
2
: someone or something like a monarch
the oak is the monarch of the forest
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