rulerrul‧er /ˈruːlə $ -ər/ ●●● W3 noun [countable] 
someone such as a king or queen who has official power over a country or area
► see thesaurus at leader2a long flat straight piece of plastic, metal, or wood that you use for measuring things or drawing straight lines:
a 12-inch ruler
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- King Priam was a firm, but just ruler.
- Ramses II, ruler of Egypt in 13,000 BC
- Several countries have condemned Nigeria's military rulers for human rights abuses.
- Some regimes are governed by hereditary rulers.
- All the accounts I have examined agree, more or less, that Zeus is the ruler of the cosmos.
- Both rulers and ruled may believe that some issues are not a matter for public concern.
- Despite his arrogance and cruelty towards opponents, he had been a remarkably enlightened and often liberal and generous ruler.
- Mr Obasanjo was running the country on that occasion too, but as a military ruler.
- No earthly ruler dared interfere with the civil life of his church and kingdom.
- The rulers promptly monopolized it for their own regalia and as a medium for bestowing honour and obligations on their retainers.
- They had been imprisoned there by a long dead ruler, Llud.
- When his worship spread to a town where there was already a divine ruler the two were slowly fused into one.
THESAURUS
the person who directs or controls a group, organization, country etc: · Party members will vote next week to elect a new leader.· leaders of developing nations from around the world
someone, such as a king or queen or a military leader, who has official power over a country or area: · Sheik Mohammed, ruler of Dubai· Argentina’s former military rulers
someone who leads a country or state: · Twenty-one heads of state will meet at the annual World Trade summit.
someone who is seen as the leader of a country or organization, although he or she does not have any real power: · the Queen’s role as a national figurehead· There are advantages in having a respected personality as a figurehead for the organisation.
someone who leads a group that is doing something illegal or wrong: · The alleged ringleaders of the gang have been arrested.· the ringleaders of the airplane bomb plot
the male ruler of a country, who comes from a royal family: · George III was the king of England at that time.· King Harald V of Norway
a woman who rules a country because she is from a royal family, or the wife of a king: · She became queen when she was only 14 years old.· Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
a king or queen: · The bishops were appointed by the monarch.
a country that is ruled by a king or queen, or this type of political system: · Britain is a constitutional monarchy.· Some people want the monarchy to be abolished.
the son of a king, queen, or prince, or the male ruler of a small country or state: · Prince Rainier of Monaco· The prince will inherit the throne when his father dies.
someone such as a king, who has official power over a country and its people: · the ruler of Babylonia· General Musharraf was the former military ruler of Pakistan.
the ruler of an empire (=group of countries): · the Habsburg emperors of the 19th century· Emperor Hirohito
formal a king or queen: · It was hoped that a meeting of the two sovereigns would ease tensions between the countries.
someone who governs instead of a king or queen, because the king or queen is ill, absent, or still a child: · Edward II left his friend Gaveston as regent.
formal the position of king or queen: · Warwick was a loyal servant of the crown.
Longman Language Activatorthe leader of a group or country someone who is in charge of a group of people, or someone who they have chosen to represent them: · The report has raised strong opposition from radical black leaders.· 12,000 party members will vote next week to elect a new leader.leader of: · the leader of the Communist party· The leaders of the rebel movement have been arrested.world leader (=the leader of a major country): · World leaders are meeting in Geneva today to consider the peace plan.union/party/community etc leader: · To function effectively, a party leader has to be attentive to people's needs.· So far, business leaders have been encouraged by the government's economic policy.gang leader: · Three members of the 'Hells Angels' group were convicted of the murder of a rival gang leader.born leader (=someone who is naturally very good at being a leader): · Peter was a born leader, and his chairmanship of the WWF could not have been more effective.leader of the opposition (=the leader of the group of people in a parliament who are not part of the government, and who argue against it): · The leader of the opposition has demanded an early election.
the people in charge of a political party or country: · Party members had lost confidence in the leadership.· Turkey has lacked any clear leadership since the collapse of the coalition government four months ago.leadership of: · The leadership of the Association was criticized for not making its plans more easily accessible.
the official leader of a country that does not have a king or queen: · President Chirac visited Japan this week.· It was Dever's job to advise the president on his public image.president of: · the President of Egypt
someone who leads a country or state: · President Clinton was the first head of state to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.· Twenty-one heads of state will meet at the annual World Trade summit.
the elected leader of the government in a country that has a parliament: · The British Prime Minister lives at 10 Downing Street.· Hashimoto was elected prime minister in 1998.prime minister of: · the Prime Minister of India
someone, such as a king or queen or a military leader, who has the power to run the government of a country: · King Priam was a firm, but just ruler.ruler of: · Ramses II, ruler of Egypt in 13,000 BChereditary ruler (=the son or daughter of a ruler, who becomes the new ruler when that parent dies): · Some regimes are governed by hereditary rulers.
a man who is the official leader of a country because he is a member of a royal family: · a portrait of King George VIking of: · King Juan Carlos of Spain· the King of Morocco
a woman who is the official leader of a country because she is a member of a royal family, or a woman who is the wife of a king: · a new biography of Queen Elizabethqueen of: · the Queen of Sweden· the King and Queen of Belgium
use this to describe someone who is recognized as the leader of a country or organization, although he or she does not have any real power: · The president is essentially a figurehead: the real power lies with the prime minister.· He was never more than a mere figurehead in the negotiations.
WORD SETSabacus, nounalgebra, nounangle, nounarc, nounarea, nounarithmetic, nounarithmetic, adjectivearithmetic progression, nounaxis, nounbar chart, nounbar graph, nounbase, nounbinomial, nounbisect, verbBoolean, adjectiveC, nouncalculator, nouncalculus, nouncanonical, adjectivechord, nouncipher, nouncircumference, nouncircumscribe, verbcompass, nouncomplementary, adjectivecomputation, nouncompute, verbconcentric, adjectivecone, nouncongruent, adjectiveconical, adjectiveconstant, nouncontain, verbcoordinate, nouncoordinate, adjectivecos, cosine, nouncube, nouncubic, adjectivecurvature, nouncurve, nouncut, verbdeci-, prefixdeviation, noundiagonal, adjectivediameter, noundifferential calculus, noundigit, noundimension, noundomain, nouneccentric, adjectiveellipse, nounelliptical, adjectiveequal, adjectiveequal, verbequals sign, nounequation, nounequilateral triangle, nounexponential, adjectiveexpress, verbexpression, nounface, nounfigure, nounflow chart, nounformula, nounfraction, nounfractional, adjectivefunction, noungeometric, adjectivegeometry, noungraph, noungraphically, adverbgraph paper, noungrid, nounHCF, helix, nounheptagon, nounhexagon, nounhistogram, nounhypotenuse, nounimperial, adjectiveimproper fraction, nouninfinity, nouninformation theory, nouninnumerate, adjectiveinto, prepositioninverse, adjectiveisosceles triangle, nounline graph, log, nounlogarithm, nounlong division, nounlozenge, nounmath, nounmathematical, adjectivemathematician, nounmathematics, nounmatrix, nounmean, adjectivemedian, nounmedian, adjectivemetric, adjectiveminus, prepositionminus, nounminus, adjectiveminus sign, nounminute, nounmultiplication, nounmultiplication sign, nounmultiplication table, nounmultiply, verbN, nounnumber, nounnumerate, adjectivenumeration, nounoblong, adjectiveobtuse angle, nounoctagon, nounoval, nounparabola, nounparallel, adjectiveparallelogram, nounpentagon, nounpercentage, nounperimeter, nounperpendicular, nounpi, nounpictogram, nounpie chart, nounplane, nounplane geometry, nounplus, prepositionplus, nounplus, adjectiveplus sign, nounpolygon, nounpolyhedron, nounpower, nounprism, nounprobability, nounproof, nounproportion, nounproposition, nounprotractor, nounquadrangle, nounquadrant, nounquadratic equation, nounquadri-, prefixquadrilateral, nounradius, nounratio, nounrectangle, nounrectilinear, adjectiverecur, verbrhombus, nounright angle, nounright-angled triangle, nounroot, nounruler, nounscale, nounscalene triangle, nounscatter diagram, section, nounsegment, nounsemicircle, nounset square, nounsine, nounslide rule, nounsolid, adjectivesolid, nounsolution, nounsolve, verbsphere, nounsquare, adjectivesquare, nounsquare, verbsquare, adverbsquarely, adverbsquare root, nounsubset, nounsubtract, verbsubtraction, nounsum, nounsurface area, nounsymmetrical, adjectivesymmetry, nountangent, nounterm, nountheorem, nounthreefold, adjectivetimes, prepositiontrapezium, nountriangle, nountrigonometry, nountwo-dimensional, adjectivevalue, nounvariable, nounvector, nounVenn diagram, nounvertex, nounvertical, adjectivevolume, nounwork, verbX, nounx-axis, nouny-axis, noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES a weak and ineffective presidentCOLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE
a weak and ineffective president· There was never much doubt about which language the colonial rulers would use in local administration.· After years of persecution by colonial rulers, Orisha worshipers only recently had their religion officially recognized by the government.
· But, at least in the short term, a new military ruler looks to be the likely outcome.· He also instructed those around him in these arts, and was far from being just a powerful military ruler.· Unlike past military rulers, General Musharraf has neither imposed martial law nor suppressed fundamental rights.· Mr Obasanjo was running the country on that occasion too, but as a military ruler.· But it also raises questions for the increasingly unpopular military rulers.· He defeated the military ruler, Gen.
· The Gallo-Romans quickly reached accommodation with the new rulers, despite differences in culture and religion.· The new ruler of the gods owed Prometheus much for helping him conquer the other Titans, but he forgot his debt.· These problems reveal the contradictions within the newly independent society, particularly the contradictions between the new rulers and the masses.· Milan challenged the new ruler and for its troubles was razed to the ground in 1162.· But, at least in the short term, a new military ruler looks to be the likely outcome.· The new rulers and the newly formed political societies of the post-Renaissance period lacked political experience.· A poor response from Valencia was easily overcome and within the city there was much murmuring against the new ruler.
· Both Luther and Calvin accepted that secular rulers had no jurisdiction over spiritual matters.· It did not imitate the variability of the secular rulers who thought only of temporal gain.· But this quasi-sacerdotal character was no longer an important aid to the power of secular rulers.· It was also in the interest of secular rulers that Catholic orthodoxy was maintained.· The response of the secular rulers depended on a wide variety of factors, but mostly it was conditioned by political considerations.
VERB· Generally, however, they must have been concerned to persuade him to become an amenable ruler.· By 1146 Henry had become ruler of Saxony.
· While there were improvements in standard in a number of areas, Britain's control emphasised the distance between rulers and ruled.
WORD FAMILYnounrulerulerrulingunrulinessadjectiverulingunrulyruledverbruleoverrule
1someone such as a king or queen who has official power over a country or area► see thesaurus at leader2a long flat straight piece of plastic, metal, or wood that you use for measuring things or drawing straight lines:
a 12-inch ruler