reign
noun · verb
Simple meaning
The time when a monarch is sovereign.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
raynIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɹeɪn
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
The period during which a monarch is sovereign
“During the reign of Henry VIII.”
A period during which something or somebody is dominant or powerful
“He was helpless under the reign of his egotism.”
The period during which a monarch rules.
The exercise of sovereign power.
The territory or sphere over which a kingdom; empire; realm; dominion, etc. is ruled.
verb
Have sovereign power
“Henry VIII reigned for a long time.”
intransitive
To exercise sovereign power, to rule as a monarch.
To be a dominant quality of a place or situation; to prevail, predominate, rule.
To be the winner of the most recent iteration of a competition.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The period during which a monarch is sovereign
Used this way, reign is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“During the reign of Henry VIII.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Usage note
It most often appears in the pattern “reign of …”, which is worth copying when you use it.
Natural pattern: reign of …
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
How It’s Used
The word’s distinct uses, one example each.
Periodnoun
“During the reign of Henry VIII.”
Sovereign / exerciseverb
“Henry VIII reigned for a long time.”
More ways to use reign
- “During the reign of Henry VIII.”noun
- “He was helpless under the reign of his egotism.”noun
- “Henry VIII reigned for a long time.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Any period of brutal suppression thought to resemble the Reign of Terror in France.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: period during which a monarch is sovereign
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.