potentate

noun po·ten·tate \ ˈpō-tᵊn-ˌtāt \

|Updated on: 20 Jul 2018

Examples: potentate in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of potentate

: ruler, sovereign; broadly : one who wields great power or sway

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Examples of potentate in a Sentence

Charles inherited the position of potentate of the Holy Roman Empire from his grandfather, as well that of king of Spain from his father.

Recent Examples of potentate from the Web

Then last year the potentate at the time, Illustrious Sir Mike Yavno, and the recorder at the time, Max Bearden, formed a committee to look into the restoration and hired a plaster expert to do a study on this.

— maria l. la ganga, idahostatesman, "What’s behind ’60s-era paneling at El Korah Shrine? A ballroom’s worth of ’20s art.," 12 July 2018
Orlando Gutierrez, media potentate at Los Al, volunteered and penned this season preview.

— john cherwa, latimes.com, "Racing! It’s post time at Los Alamitos," 28 June 2018
Halls that once swirled with cigar smoke and tulle frocks started welcoming PowerPoint potentates in plastic name-tags.

— New York Times, "We’ll Never Be Royals, But ...," 21 Apr. 2018
Until the late 19th century, popes chose the bishops of central Italy, but almost all other bishops around the world were picked by secular potentates or elected by local clergy.

— francis x. rocca, WSJ, "Even the Pope’s ‘Supreme’ Power Has Its Limits," 29 Apr. 2018
At 56, Mr Aliyev is the youngest of the Eurasian potentates.

— The Economist, "Azerbaijan’s president wins yet another term," 12 Apr. 2018
As potentate, the highest elected position within the Tripoli Shrine, Michael Geiger had nearly sovereign power, his attorney told a jury.

— bruce vielmetti, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Former potentate of the Milwaukee Tripoli Shrine stands trial on embezzlement charges," 28 Feb. 2018
One narrative of the modern Middle East is of potentates trying to stamp their imprint across these often volatile states.

— scott peterson, The Christian Science Monitor, "How Iran, the Mideast's new superpower, is expanding its footprint across the region – and what it means," 18 Dec. 2017
Here, the people are not eccentric collectors or sadistic potentates, but twin brothers, farmers and sons of a farmer, who, through first the Great War and then the next, never leave home for any significant period of time.

— hanya yanagihara, New York Times, "Bruce Chatwin: One of the Last Great Explorers," 7 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'potentate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

Potentate has been wielding its power in English since the 15th century. It comes from the Late Latin potentatus, which in turn was formed from the Latin potent-, meaning "powerful." Other descendants of potent- in English include potent itself, impotent, and omnipotent, as well as the archaic armipotent and very rare bellipotent (meaning, respectively, "mighty in battle" and "mighty in war"). Even power and powerful can be traced back to potent-.