Basic Details
Word: Viceroy
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: A person sent to rule a country or province on behalf of a king or queen.
Synonyms: governor
How to Spell Viceroy
Syllables: vice - roy
Tricky part: The first part is vice with a c, not vise, and the second part is roy with a y, not rey or roi.
Watch out for: viseroy, vicerey, viceroi
Memory tip: Vice means in place of, as in vice-captain, and roy comes from French roi, king. A viceroy rules in place of the king: vice + roy.
Usage Examples
Example 1: The viceroy's house in New Delhi is now Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Example 2: Our history chapter lists the viceroys who ruled India before 1947.
Example 3: A portrait of each viceroy once hung in the long hall of the palace.
Fun Fact
Lord Mountbatten was the last Viceroy of India. After independence in 1947 he stayed on for a short time as the first Governor-General of free India.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Read the four words. Choose the meaning of the only correctly spelt word:
1. viceroy 2. ambasador 3. parliment 4. tresury
a) the department that looks after public money
b) the group of people elected to make laws
c) an official who represents a country abroad
d) a person who rules a land on behalf of a monarch
Show answer
d) a person who rules a land on behalf of a monarch. Parliament has ia, ambassador has a double s, and treasury has ea.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
Lord Curzon, who served as viseroy of India from 1899 to 1905, is remembered for ordering the partition of Bengal, which led to widespread protests.
a) remembered
b) partition
c) viseroy
d) widespread
Show answer
c) viseroy. Think of vice-captain: the vice in viceroy is spelt with a c.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters in the sentence to form a meaningful word:
Each summer the oyreicv moved his whole office from the plains up to the cool hills.
a) viceroy
b) recover
c) vicar
d) victory
Show answer
a) viceroy. Victory needs a t, vicar has no y, and recover has no i; viceroy uses every letter.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A viceroy ruled ____.
a) only over a single village
b) on behalf of a king or queen
c) as a leader chosen by voters
d) as the head priest of a temple
Show answer
b) on behalf of a king or queen
2. Which person also acts in place of someone else, as a viceroy did?
a) a prisoner
b) a stranger
c) a rival
d) a deputy
Show answer
d) a deputy
