Regnant
adj, noun ·Uncommon ·College level
Definitions
- 1 A sovereign or ruler. obsolete
"Here are two sovereigns in the land, a regnant and a claimant—that is enough of one good thing—but if any one wants more, he may find a king in every peel-house in the country; so if we lack government, it is not for lack of governors—[…]"
- 1 Reigning, ruling; currently holding power. not-comparable
"The people are now the State, their will is the regnant will, and that will has this characteristic — it loves principles, it hates compromises; and the principles it loves must be regulative, fit to be applied to the work and guidance of life."
- 2 Dominant; holding sway; having particular power or influence. not-comparable
"The doors of his temples were kept open in time of war, the time in which the ideas of contradiction and conflict are most naturally regnant."
- 3 of a monarch, ruling in one's own right; often contrasted with consort and dowager not-comparable, postpositional
"Queen Elizabeth II reigned as queen regnant, unlike her mother Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother."
- 1 exercising power or authority wordnet
Example
More examples"The people are now the State, their will is the regnant will, and that will has this characteristic — it loves principles, it hates compromises; and the principles it loves must be regulative, fit to be applied to the work and guidance of life."
Etymology
From Middle English regnant, reignant, from Middle French regnant, régnant, and its source, Latin rēgnāns, the present participle of regnāre.
Related phrases
More for "regnant"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.