variants
often Shah
: a sovereign of Iran
Examples of shah in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Think of the Iranian shah’s secret police, the SAVAK, which the revolutionaries angrily dissolved in 1979 only to carry over many of its practices, prisons, and even personnel into a new organization, SAVAMA.
—
Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
Cheap gasoline has been viewed for generations as a birthright in Iran, sparking mass demonstrations as far back as 1964, when a price increase forced the shah to put military vehicles on the streets to replace those of striking taxi drivers.
—Nasser Karimi, Arkansas Online, 14 Dec. 2025
But Googoosh was also taken up by urban intellectuals who sympathized with the shah’s opponents.
—Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 10 Dec. 2025
After the shah fled, the revolution’s spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, returned from exile and pursued an anti-American foreign policy that remains today.
—Miami Herald, 7 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shah
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.
Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
Cheap gasoline has been viewed for generations as a birthright in Iran, sparking mass demonstrations as far back as 1964, when a price increase forced the shah to put military vehicles on the streets to replace those of striking taxi drivers.
—Nasser Karimi, Arkansas Online, 14 Dec. 2025
But Googoosh was also taken up by urban intellectuals who sympathized with the shah’s opponents.
—Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 10 Dec. 2025
After the shah fled, the revolution’s spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, returned from exile and pursued an anti-American foreign policy that remains today.
—Miami Herald, 7 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shah
Cite this Entry
“Shah.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shah. Accessed 21 Dec. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
shah
noun
ˈshä 
ˈshȯ
: a ruler of Iran until the 1979 revolution
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share