reign
/reɪn
/verb [no object]
1Hold royal office; rule as monarch: Queen Elizabeth reigns over the UK...
- Democracy has been conveniently thrown out the door and in its wake imperialist and dictatorial rule reign supreme.
- And we pay these modern-day monarchs to reign over and rule us.
- Despite possessing many of the qualities needed to govern, the king had reigned but never ruled.
Synonyms
be king/queen, be monarch, be sovereign, sit on the throne, occupy the throne, wear the crown, wield the sceptre, hold sway, rule, govern, be in power
ruling, regnant;
on the throne
1.1Be the best or most important in a particular area or domain: in America, baseball reigns supreme...
- A committed team effort from Kendal was rewarded with a 35-run victory over reigning Northern Premier League champions Darwen at Birch Hall on Saturday.
- Coughlin, the world record holder and reigning Olympic champion, had to settle for third.
- In the League semi-final Carlow shocked reigning Ulster champions, Armagh, to reach the county's lone NFL final.
Synonyms
incumbent, current, in office, presiding, in power
1.2(Of a quality or condition) be the dominant feature of a situation or place: confusion reigned...
- Quality reigns when it comes to choosing an adequate outsource partner, but the significance of inventory management capabilities is increasing.
- All around him, chaos and disorder reigned.
- The party's lack of emphasis on defense didn't matter much when peace and prosperity reigned.
Synonyms
prevail, exist, be in existence, be present, be the case, hold, obtain, occur, be prevalent, be current, be rife, be rampant, be the order of the day, be customary, be established, be common, be widespread, be in force, be in effect;
abound, predominate, preponderate, be supreme, hold sway;
endure, survive, persist
prevailing, existing, extant, contemporary, present, current, modern, latest;
usual, common, set, recognized, established, accepted, ordinary, popular, fashionable;
general, pervasive, ubiquitous, widespread, rampant, universal;
in force, in fashion, in style, in vogue
noun
1The period of rule of a monarch: the original chapel was built in the reign of Charles I...
- It was the official religion during the reign of the monarchy and is currently the unofficial religion.
- When the Queen first began her reign, monarchs were expected to be somewhat detached, grand and distant figures, especially the British monarch.
- A modern historian has said that at no period of her history has Scotland ever stood relatively so high in the scale of nations as during the reign of this excellent monarch.
Synonyms
rule, sovereignty, monarchy
1.1The period during which someone or something is predominant or pre-eminent: she was hoping for a long reign as world champion...
- Even in the darkest early days of his reign as Down manager he never tried to offload the blame for defeat.
- Meanwhile, Jonathan Edwards saw his reign as European champion brought to an end as the triple jump great was toppled by Sweden's Christian Olsson.
- During his reign as manager, English helped Tipp to win one All-Ireland, one Munster championship and two National League titles.
Synonyms
period in office, incumbency, tenancy, managership, leadership;
period as champion
Usage
The correct idiomatic phrase is a free rein, not a free reign; see rein (usage).
Origin
Middle English: from Old French reignier 'to reign', reigne 'kingdom', from Latin regnum, related to rex, reg- 'king'.
Rhymes
- not sleep (or get) a wink (or not get a wink of sleep)
- not so dusty
- not someone's day
- not someone's idea of
- not so much —— as ——
- not stand (or have) an earthly
- not stand the ghost of a chance
- not suffer fools gladly
- nott
- not take kindly to
- not take no for an answer
- Nottaway
- not that
- not the full quid
- not the full shilling
- not the only pebble on the beach
- not-thereness
- not the sharpest knife in the drawer
- not the sharpest tool in the shed
- Nottingham
- Nottingham catchfly
- Nottingham lace
- Nottinghamshire
- Notting Hill
- not to be