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

Sunday is the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille fortress in Paris on July 14, 1789, which marked the beginning of the French Revolution that toppled the monarchy. —Rick Noack, Washington Post, 14 July 2024

Chris Jackson, the royal photographer for Getty Images and husband to Princess Kate's senior private executive assistant Natasha Archer, spoke about his work capturing the monarchy through images on Wednesday in an interview with British morning show host Lorraine Kelly. —David Faris, Newsweek, 10 July 2024

This week, just three days before Independence Day, conservative Supreme Court justices voted to restore the monarchy — or at the very least monarchy lite — with their ruling in Trump’s immunity case. —Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 8 July 2024

The diagnoses marked the first time that two senior working members of the British royal family simultaneously had cancer, leaving Queen Camilla and Prince William to step up as the faces of the monarchy. —Janine Henni, Peoplemag, 25 June 2024

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