sovereignty

noun sov·er·eign·ty \ ˈsä-v(ə-)rən-tē , -vərn-tē also ˈsə- \

variants: or less commonly sovranty

|Updated on: 18 Jul 2018

Examples: sovereignty in a Sentence

plural sovereignties

1 obsolete : supreme excellence or an example of it

2 a : supreme power especially over a body politic

b : freedom from external control : autonomy

c : controlling influence

3 : one that is sovereign; especially : an autonomous state

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Examples of sovereignty in a Sentence

Nor was the sovereignty of the Native Hawaiian race recognized at the time Hawaii became a state. —Ramesh Ponnuru, National Review, 18 July 2005
Cesaire's wrenching chant of self-affirmation announced a new era of intellectual and cultural sovereignty for black writers in French. —Lila Azam Zanganeh, New York Times Book Review, 12 June 2005
The position plunged him into a supremely complicated religious and political game. Throughout Europe the old order of divinely sanctioned kingdoms was battling models of popular sovereignty and citizenship inspired by the Enlightenment, the French Revolution and the adolescent U.S. —David Van Biema, Time, 4 Sept. 2000
upon leaving home she felt that she had achieved sovereignty for the first time in her life
as parts of the same sovereignty, the states should not enact laws intended to harm one another economically

Recent Examples of sovereignty from the Web

Sensible calls for data sovereignty include the consumer-friendly policies enacted in the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation.

— jacob silverman, Longreads, "Private Telegram, Public Strife," 3 July 2018
China claims sovereignty over Taiwan, though the two sides have been self-ruled since the Chinese civil war of the 1940s.

— ralph jennings, latimes.com, "Taiwanese in U.S. targeted by fraudsters. Could the calls be coming from China?," 9 June 2018
Palestinians refuse to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the city, which most believe should be divided in future peace treaty.

— ruth eglash, chicagotribune.com, "Argentine soccer team cancels match in Israel amid death threats against Lionel Messi," 6 June 2018
Friends say Wilkie admires the late senator as a political exemplar with a strong view of U.S. sovereignty and defense.

— paul sonne and lisa rein, miamiherald, "Trump's VA pick, a longtime aide to polarizing politicians, has defended extreme views," 26 June 2018
Poland’s government hasn’t given other EU states much reason to fight on its behalf, saying that the EU poses the biggest threat to its sovereignty since the fall of the Iron Curtain.

— wojciech moskwa, Bloomberg.com, "Poland Raises Early Objection to Merkel-Macron Euro Plan," 21 June 2018
China has not sent high-level officials to the three-day meeting, in an apparent attempt to deflect attention from its campaign to expand its sovereignty across virtually the entire South China Sea.

— CBS News, "In Singapore, Mattis blasts China over weaponization of South China Sea," 2 June 2018
There is no question in my mind that Al Qaeda perpetrated the 9/11 attacks or about Israel’s right to its sovereignty.

— kirsten west savali, The Root, "Joy-Ann Reid Apologizes For Blog Posts—Again," 2 June 2018
But the end of the war, in 1815, affirmed U.S. sovereignty and undermined tribal security.

— anna diamond, Smithsonian, "How Come U.S. Currency Never Changes Its Face and More Questions From Our Readers," 25 May 2018

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