What does sovereignty mean?
Word: Sovereignty
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Sovereignty means complete power to rule. A country has sovereignty when it governs itself and no other country can make its laws or decisions for it.
Synonyms: self-rule, autonomy
Antonyms: dependence
How do you spell sovereignty?
Syllables: sov - er - eign - ty
Tricky part: The silent g of eign is the big trap, and the e after v is easy to drop (soverignty).
Watch out for: soverignty, sovreignty, sovereinty
Memory tip: Reign, with its silent g, sits inside the word: a sovereign is someone who reigns over a land.
Sovereignty in a sentence
Example 1: The treaty respected the sovereignty of both nations over their own waters.
Example 2: Every member of the United Nations is meant to respect the others' sovereignty.
Example 3: The small kingdoms lost their sovereignty when they joined the new nation.
Fun Fact
The word came into English from the Old French soverain; the g crept in later because people linked it with reign, though the two words are not related.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to complete the word:
s_vereignt_
a) o, i
b) o, y
c) u, y
d) a, y
Show answer
b) o, y. The word opens with so, like sofa, and ends in a y, not an i.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word sovereignty as it is used in the sentence:
The small island nation fought hard to protect its sovereignty from powerful neighbours.
a) obedience
b) submission
c) independence
d) weakness
Show answer
c) independence. Sovereignty means ruling yourself, which is independence; obedience, submission and weakness mean being under someone else.
Spell-o-Spell
Three of these words are spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of the misspelt word:
1. territory 2. parliment 3. sovereignty 4. constitution
a) the group of elected people who make a country's laws
b) an area of land under one ruler or government
c) the basic set of laws by which a country is run
d) a nation's full right to run its own affairs
Show answer
a) the group of elected people who make a country's laws. Parliament hides an a between the i and the m, and parliment leaves it out.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters in the sentence to form a meaningful word:
Every nation guards its ervtyognise over its own land, sea and sky.
a) sovereignty
b) severity
c) souvenir
d) serenity
Show answer
a) sovereignty. Spot the g and the y in the jumble: of the four options, only sovereignty has both.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A sovereign nation rules itself. Which of these is one?
a) Tasmania
b) Nepal
c) Hawaii
d) Sicily
Show answer
b) Nepal
2. A land ruled by another country, with no sovereignty of its own, is called a ____.
a) capital
b) colony
c) republic
d) continent
Show answer
b) colony
