shah

noun

ˈshä How to pronounce shah (audio)
ˈshȯ
variants often Shah
Synonyms of shahnext
: a sovereign of Iran
shahdom
ˈshä-dəm How to pronounce shah (audio)
ˈshȯ-
noun

Examples of shah in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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These claims are amplified by the Iranian diaspora living outside the Islamic Republic, most of whom come from families that fled the country due to their association with the shah. Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 19 Mar. 2026 Safavi was executed by the shah a decade later, when Ali Khamenei was a teenager. Karim Sadjadpour, The Atlantic, 10 Mar. 2026 Khomeini was a leader of opposition to the shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, an authoritarian who wanted to modernize the country. The Week Us, TheWeek, 10 Mar. 2026 Political figures within Iran criticized the idea of handing over the supreme leader’s title based on heredity and thereby creating a clerical version of the rule of the shah, who was toppled during the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Jon Gambrell, Fortune, 9 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for shah

Word History

Etymology

Persian shāh king — more at check

First Known Use

1566, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of shah was in 1566

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Cite this Entry

“Shah.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shah. Accessed 24 Mar. 2026.

Kids Definition

shah

noun
ˈshä How to pronounce shah (audio)
ˈshȯ
: a ruler of Iran until the 1979 revolution

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