sovereignty
- 01 C1 Advanced
the right of a person or a specific group to have total control over their own life or choices.
the state of being free from external control; individual or collective autonomy in decision-making.
Simple“The movement fights for the sovereignty of indigenous people over their traditional lands.”
In context“Philosophers often discuss bodily sovereignty as the fundamental right of an individual to determine what happens to their own physical person.”
- 02 C2 Proficiency
a territory or nation that is independent and rules itself.
a territory under the rule of a sovereign power; an independent or self-governing nation.
Simple“The island was recognized as a full sovereignty after the treaty was signed.”
In context“The legal dispute centered on whether the region functioned as a functional sovereignty or remained a dependent territory of the empire.”
Antonyms
“This would likely strengthen Hezbollah’s hand, which would join a broader coalition of political forces rejecting what would be perceived as a violation of Lebanese sovereignty.”
“He warned that China, the US and France would not get access to Brazil’s mineral wealth without respecting the country’s sovereignty.”
PIE word *upér From Late Middle English sovereynte, souvereynte [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman sovereyneté, soverentee, and Old French soveraineté, souveraineté (modern French souveraineté), from soverain + -té (suffix forming nouns, often denoting a property or quality). Soverain is derived from Vulgar Latin superānus (“chief; sovereign”), from Latin super (“above; on top of”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European upér (“above, over”)) + -ānus (“suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’, usually denoting a relationship of origin, position, or possession”)). The English word is analysable as sovereign + -ty (suffix forming abstract nouns from adjectives).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.