sovereignty

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

variants: or less commonly sovranty

Definition of sovereignty

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

Catalonia generates a fifth of Spain’s GDP and already has wide sovereignty, managing its own education system and police forces.

— sara miller llana, The Christian Science Monitor, "Collateral damage from Barcelona attack: Relations between Catalonia and Madrid," 25 Aug. 2017
Determined to rule as much more than a figurehead, Mary asserts her claim to the English throne, threatening Elizabeth's sovereignty.

— mehera bonner, Marie Claire, "Margot Robbie Looks Like a *Completely* Different Person Filming 'Mary, Queen of Scots'," 21 Aug. 2017
The group has also pushed a belief that some shadowy figures in the United State's own government are working to undermine the nation's sovereignty.

— allie gross, Detroit Free Press, "Michigan has long been fertile ground for the far right," 17 Aug. 2017
Working in seven core themes, from language revival to food sovereignty, Thunder Valley steps in where, and when, schools fall short.

— emily jan, The Atlantic, "A Reservation, Restored," 2 Aug. 2017
Many conservative Israelis want the government to assert its sovereignty at the plaza by allowing visits of politicians and eliminating a ban on non-Muslim prayer.

— joshua mitnick, latimes.com, "Palestinians keep up holy site boycott despite Israel's removal of metal detectors," 25 July 2017
The Trump administration, which regards the authority of foreign judges as an infringement of sovereignty, has both provisions in its sights.

— The Economist, "The outlines of NAFTA 2 emerge," 20 July 2017
The state announced formal settlement negotiations in January, triggering a wave of criticism from some politicians and locals who wanted the state to prevail in court and establish state sovereignty over public access involving Native land.

— zaz hollander, Alaska Dispatch News, "State and Ahtna reach settlement on long-disputed Klutina Lake access," 18 July 2017
The move was widely decried as the most severe infringement by Beijing on Hong Kong's judicial independence and rule of law since the territory came under Chinese sovereignty in 1997.

— kevin lui / hong kong, Time, "Four More Hong Kong Lawmakers Ousted In a Blow to Democratic Hopes," 14 July 2017

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.