monarchy

noun

mon·​ar·​chy ˈmä-nər-kē 

also -ˌnär-

plural monarchies

1

: undivided rule or absolute sovereignty by a single person

Saudi Arabia is governed by a monarchy.

2

: a nation or state having a monarchical government

Britain is a monarchy.

3

: a government having a hereditary chief of state with life tenure and powers varying from nominal to absolute

The country's hereditary monarchy survived for centuries.

Examples of monarchy in a Sentence

the French monarchy of the 18th century

Recent Examples on the Web

In Tatoi, the atmosphere that cold February day reflected the political tension of a Greece still digesting the end of its monarchy—in fact, Queen Sofia was required to secure special permission from the Greek government for the burial, which only allowed the family six hours for the services. —Diego Parrado, Vanity Fair, 18 Jan. 2026

Iran’s 1979 revolution overthrew the Pahlavi monarchy and established the Islamic Republic, which has since been widely criticised around the world. —Shooka Bidarian, Forbes.com, 16 Jan. 2026

Prince William and Kate Middleton have long spoken about wanting to make the monarchy more relatable—and the Princess of Wales did just that while arriving for her first solo engagement of 2026 on January 15. —Rachel Burchfield, InStyle, 16 Jan. 2026

Kurdish political culture strongly favors democratic values, pluralism and women’s participation, which is why there is almost no support among them for monarchy or lifetime rule. —Benjamin Weinthal, FOXNews.com, 16 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing monarchy

• constitutional monarchy

Kids Definition

monarchy

noun

mon·​ar·​chy ˈmän-ər-kē 

plural monarchies

1

: total rule by one person

2

: a nation or country ruled by a monarch

3

: a form of government having a chief of state who inherits the position, rules for life, and holds powers varying from very limited to total