sovereignty
noun
sov·er·eign·tyˈsä-v(ə-)rən-tē 
-vərn-tē
alsoˈsə-
variants or less commonlysovranty
plural sovereignties also sovranties
1
a
:supreme power especially over abody politic
b
:freedom from external control:autonomysense 1
c
:controlling influence
2
:one that is sovereign
especially:an autonomous state:autonomysense 2
3
obsolete:supreme excellence or an example of it
Synonyms ofsovereignty
Examples ofsovereignty in a Sentence
Nor was thesovereignty of the Native Hawaiian race recognized at the time Hawaii became a state.—
Ramesh Ponnuru,National Review,18 July 2005Cesaire's wrenching chant of self-affirmation announced a new era of intellectual and culturalsovereignty for black writers in French.—Lila Azam Zanganeh,New York Times Book Review,12 June 2005The position plunged him into a supremely complicated religious and political game. Throughout Europe the old order of divinely sanctioned kingdoms was battling models of popularsovereignty 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 achievedsovereignty for the first time in her life as parts of the samesovereignty, the states should not enact laws intended to harm one another economically
Ramesh Ponnuru,National Review,18 July 2005Cesaire's wrenching chant of self-affirmation announced a new era of intellectual and culturalsovereignty for black writers in French.—Lila Azam Zanganeh,New York Times Book Review,12 June 2005The position plunged him into a supremely complicated religious and political game. Throughout Europe the old order of divinely sanctioned kingdoms was battling models of popularsovereignty 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 achievedsovereignty for the first time in her life as parts of the samesovereignty, the states should not enact laws intended to harm one another economicallyRecent Examples on the WebUnderscoring the drift, the French leader cited the absence of the US at the table, the difficulty to protect humanitarian law and thesovereignty of some countries like Ukraine as evidence that require an urgent collective re-engagement.—Preston Fore,Fortune, 23 Nov. 2025People who don’t havesovereignty, don’t have archives and don’t have production of a knowledge system.—Martin Dale,Variety, 22 Nov. 2025According to foreign media, the American framework includes recognition of Russiansovereignty over Crimea and Donbas, a freeze along parts of the front line in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, and lifting of sanctions on Moscow.—Matthew Robinson,MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Nov. 2025This includes, among other things, ensuring that the Line of Contact serves as the starting point for any understanding and that the Ukrainian armed forces remain capable of effectively defending Ukraine'ssovereignty.—Haley Ott,CBS News, 21 Nov. 2025See All Example Sentences forsovereignty
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.
Preston Fore,Fortune, 23 Nov. 2025People who don’t havesovereignty, don’t have archives and don’t have production of a knowledge system.—Martin Dale,Variety, 22 Nov. 2025According to foreign media, the American framework includes recognition of Russiansovereignty over Crimea and Donbas, a freeze along parts of the front line in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, and lifting of sanctions on Moscow.—Matthew Robinson,MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Nov. 2025This includes, among other things, ensuring that the Line of Contact serves as the starting point for any understanding and that the Ukrainian armed forces remain capable of effectively defending Ukraine'ssovereignty.—Haley Ott,CBS News, 21 Nov. 2025See All Example Sentences forsovereigntyWord History
Etymology
Middle Englishsoverainte, from Anglo-Frenchsovereinté, fromsoverein — seesovereignentry 2
First Known Use
14th century, in the meaning defined atsense 1a
Time Traveler
The first known use ofsovereignty was in the 14th centuryPhrases Containingsovereignty
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Cite this Entry
“Sovereignty.”Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sovereignty. Accessed 28 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
sovereignty
nounsov·er·eign·tyˈsäv-(ə-)rən-tē
ˈsäv-ərn-,
ˈsəv-
plural sovereignties
Legal Definition
sovereignty
nounsov·er·eign·ty
ˈsä-vrən-tē, ˈsə-, -və-rən-
plural sovereignties
1
a
:supreme power especially over a body politic
b
:freedom from external control:autonomy
2
:one that is sovereign
especially:an autonomous state
More from Merriam-Webster onsovereignty
Nglish:Translation ofsovereignty for Spanish Speakers
Britannica.com:Encyclopedia article aboutsovereignty
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