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
- Middle English potentat, from Old French, from Late Latin potentātus, from Latin, power, from potēns, present participle of posse, to be able; see potent.
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 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 4084 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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words 2
janiform, remora, sprat, stoa, sone, lea, scow, atoll, Weltschmerz, barmy, concupiscent, actinic and 14 more...
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Words that should be heard in songs more often
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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November
irresolute, obsequious, truculent, palliative, salvo, troubadour, elocutionist, pseudepigraphy, abattoir, repudiate, impugn, vitiated and 3 more...
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