monarch

noun

mon·​arch ˈmä-nərk 

-ˌnärk

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

3

: monarch butterfly

monarchal

mə-ˈnär-kəl 

mä-

adjective

or monarchial

mə-ˈnär-kē-əl 

mä-

Synonyms of monarch

• ruler
• sovereign
• emperor

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

Queens are raised eating royal jelly secreted from the glands of worker bees and scientists have long believed diet was the main key to making a monarch. —ABC News, 3 June 2026

Allegedly, Buckingham Palace leaned on the press to downplay the severity of the king’s illness last year, which paints a picture of a monarch who’s much sicker than people want to believe. —Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 3 June 2026

Still, Matta is hopeful that there could be peace talks between the monarch and his son. —Stephanie Nolasco , Ashley Papa, FOXNews.com, 3 June 2026

In April, as both sides of the Atlantic watched on, the king and queen carried out their first state visit to the United States as monarchs. —Jennifer Hassan, USA Today, 1 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Late Latin monarcha, from Greek monarchos, from mon- + -archos -arch

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing monarch

• monarch butterfly

Rhymes for monarch

• ballpark
• benchmark
• birthmark
• daymark
• earmark
• embark
• hallmark
• landmark
• postmark
• remark
• skylark
• tetrarch

Kids 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

3

: monarch butterfly

monarchal

mə-ˈnär-kəl 

mä-

adjective

or monarchial

-kē-əl