Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. One who has the power and position to rule over others; a monarch.
- n. One who dominates or leads a group or an endeavor: industrial potentates.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A person who possesses power or sway; a prince; sovereign; monarch; ruler.
- n. A power; state; sovereignty.
- n. A trade-name of an explosive consisting of a mixture of finely divided guncotton (about 45 to 65 per cent.) with potassium nitrate.
Wiktionary
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. One who is potent; one who possesses great power or sway; a prince, sovereign, or monarch.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a ruler who is unconstrained by law
Etymologies
- From Middle English potentat, from Old French, from Late Latin potentātus ("rule, political power"), from Latin potēns ("powerful, strong"), the active present participle of possum ("I am able"). (Wiktionary)
- Middle English potentat, from Old French, from Late Latin potentātus, from Latin, power, from potēns, present participle of posse, to be able; see potent. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Nothing helps her more than to be attacked by her enemies (think of the phenomenon as a slightly bizarre twist on FDR's maxim about an unsavory Latin American potentate: "He may be an S.O.B., but he's our S.O.B.").”
“The world has never seen a meaner scoundrel, and we may almost bring ourselves to pity the Kaiser, whom circumstances have forced to accept on equal terms a potentate so verminous.”
Raemaekers' Cartoons With Accompanying Notes by Well-known English Writers
“He was simply treating his god as he would have treated a powerful earthly patron or potentate, that is, he was apologising for anything he might have done to alienate his favour.”
“All expenses are picked up by taxpayers around the world and he has instant access to any foreign potentate, which is very helpful for his business interests”
“I'm hanged if I'll stand on ceremony with the chap, if he is some kind of potentate," Carleton grumbled; and, interrupting the conversation, asked Mary if she were of the same mind about being his passenger for a flight.”
“Switzerland is trying hard to shed its reputation as a favored location for "potentate”
“By his agency, and his dealings with the native tribes, he had acquired great wealth, and become a kind of potentate in the Indian country.”
“Switzerland has traditionally been a favorite location for "potentate" money because of its banking secrecy rules.”
“Any sillier than the U.S. naturalization oath that requires you to "absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty"?”
“Prestige and the wish to be seen as a leader in the Arab world was an early one, which when lacking in impact was repackaged into becoming an African potentate.”
The Huffington Post: Andrew J. Pierre: If Gaddafi Had the Bomb
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘potentate’.
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GRE 2014
abate, abdicate, abase, aberrant, abeyance, abhor, abjure, abortive, abound, abrasive, abreast, abridge and 1577 more...
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POL - people in power
daredevil, tzar, king, boss, master, commander, chief, kingpin, top banana, bigwig, big cheese, big wheel and 452 more...
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
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EN-HU - important words for a HU inte...
Words only (I left out the expressions) from Geza Kerenyi's EN-HU interpreters' dictionary. Most of them pose some difficulty when interpreted between HU and EN in either or both directions.
abalone, abrasive, abstractionist, abstruse, abysmal, academia, accessibility, accessible, acclimate, accolade, accompanist, achiever and 1469 more...
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common UA vocab. in US
Interesting, there is a traditional vocabulary of an Ukrainian, that differs from vocabulary of average American. It would be nice to explore it.
jackdaw, incongruous, cassock, vivid, magpie, humdrum, amongst, wonder, wandering, wheedling, wheedle, osseous and 368 more...
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Steampunk
Words used quite often in steampunk
ansible, airship, chymical, valve, clockwork, dirigible, thaumaturgy, copper, bronze, difference engine, gear, rivets and 516 more...
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words 2
janiform, remora, sprat, stoa, sone, lea, scow, atoll, Weltschmerz, barmy, concupiscent, actinic and 18 more...
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DAY2_01/05/2013
day 2, pundit, potentate, miscreant, renegade, timid, ribald, reprisal, dispersal, inoculate, disservice, dessicate and 33 more...
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Words that should be heard in songs m...
Inspired by PossibleUnderscore's list of words overused in modern pop music.
giant squid, bamboo, colonic, herbivore, raptor, dodecahedron, largesse, sinuses, dim sum, carburetor, transubstantiation, wife and 54 more...
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big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6691 more...
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November
irresolute, obsequious, truculent, palliative, salvo, troubadour, elocutionist, pseudepigraphy, abattoir, repudiate, impugn, vitiated and 3 more...
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gre2
aberrant, aberration, aboveboard, abrasive, abstemious, acme, admonish, affable, affluent, alacrity, allegory, alleviate and 1824 more...
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GRE Reference
A list of words unfamiliar to me that I have repeatedly encountered in GRE question sets.
parochial, clique, salacious, aegis, ostracize, conceited, sacrilegious, inane, serendipity, gourmand, polemic, tenuous and 138 more...
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Need to Know!
elicit, educe, refute, cogency, churlish, martinet, veritable, polyglot, dissemble, histrionics, prevarication, verbiage and 166 more...
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Good Words
fenestering, cetic, immanent, quickening, archetypal, shibboleth, soma, wetware, heritable, Apotheosis, halcyon, cellar door and 482 more...
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Week 1, Day 1
ignominy, marquee, deter, chariot, stern, perfidy, treacherous, insolent, presumptuous, banish, dubious, livid and 133 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for potentate.
milosrdenstvi Mind, they say, rules the world -- and what rules the mind but the body? And the body lies at the mercy of that most omnipotent of all mortal potentates: the Chemist.
Wilkie Collins, The Woman in White May 27, 2009