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
Some monarchs have to travel as much as 3,000 miles south to spend the winter in Mexico.
—Drew Kann, AJC.com, 12 Jan. 2026
Iran has been a theocracy since 1979, when clerics toppled a secular monarch allied with the West, leading to the formation of the Islamic Republic led by Khamenei’s predecessor, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
—Mostafa Salem, CNN Money, 12 Jan. 2026
Jack Burnell-Williams, who served in the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment and walked with the late monarch’s coffin during her funeral in September 2022, was found unresponsive shortly after at army barracks in London and was pronounced dead.
—Bailey Richards, PEOPLE, 11 Jan. 2026
Apparently, during World War II, when a number of European monarchs were living in exile in London, people would ring up the hotel’s switchboard and ask to be put through to the king.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for monarch
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Drew Kann, AJC.com, 12 Jan. 2026
Iran has been a theocracy since 1979, when clerics toppled a secular monarch allied with the West, leading to the formation of the Islamic Republic led by Khamenei’s predecessor, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
—Mostafa Salem, CNN Money, 12 Jan. 2026
Jack Burnell-Williams, who served in the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment and walked with the late monarch’s coffin during her funeral in September 2022, was found unresponsive shortly after at army barracks in London and was pronounced dead.
—Bailey Richards, PEOPLE, 11 Jan. 2026
Apparently, during World War II, when a number of European monarchs were living in exile in London, people would ring up the hotel’s switchboard and ask to be put through to the king.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Jan. 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 13 Jan. 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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share