absolute monarchy

Definition of Absolute Monarchy

(noun) A monarchical government in which a ruler has unrestricted power over the State and its people due to lack of constitutional or legal restraints.

Example of Absolute Monarchy

• Qaboos bin Said Al Said of Oman.
  

Absolute Monarchy Pronunciation

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: ab·so·lute mon·ar·chy

Audio Pronunciation

International Phonetic Alphabet

• American English – /ˈæbsəˌlut ˈmɑnɑrki/
• British English – /ˈæbsəluːt ˈmɒnəki/

Usage Notes

• Plural: absolute monarchies
• The authority of an absolute monarch is typically hierarchical, with power transferred through hereditary typically through the eldest son (primogeniture).
• Absolute monarchies were once the norm in Europe. However, most contemporary monarchies are constitutional monarchies with limited or only ceremonial powers (Wright 2006).
• There is considerable debate about which rulers, both contemporary and historic, are absolute monarchs due to the impact of religious mandates and bureaucracy.
• A type of authoritarianism, autocracy, and government.
• An absolute monarchy is contrasted with a constitutional monarchy.
• A (noun) monarch rules an absolute monarchy with (adjective) monarchal or (adjective) monarchic or (adjective) monarchical authority.

Additional Information

• Word origin of “absolute” and “monarchy” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
• Ball, Philip. 2004. Critical Mass: How One Thing Leads to Another. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.
• Turner, Bryan S. 2012. “In Defence of Monarchy.” Society 49(1):84–89. doi:10.1007/s12115-011-9496-6.

Related Terms

• authority
• constitutional monarchy
• democracy
• dictatorship
• government
• leader
• monarchy
• oligarchy
• power
• State

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Reference

Wright, Edmund, ed. 2006. A Dictionary of World History. 2nd ed., s.v. “monarchy.” New York: Oxford University Press.

Works Consulted

Ferris, Kerry, and Jill Stein. 2010. The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology. 2nd ed. New York: Norton.

Griffiths, Heather, Nathan Keirns, Eric Strayer, Susan Cody-Rydzewski, Gail Scaramuzzo, Tommy Sadler, Sally Vyain, Jeff Bry, Faye Jones. 2016. Introduction to Sociology 2e. Houston, TX: OpenStax.

Oxford University Press. (N.d.) Oxford Dictionaries. (https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/).

Ravelli, Bruce, and Michelle Webber. 2016. Exploring Sociology: A Canadian Perspective. 3rd ed. Toronto: Pearson.

Turner, Bryan S., ed. 2006. The Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/).

Cite the Definition of Absolute Monarchy

ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “absolute monarchy.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved January 16, 2025 (https://sociologydictionary.org/absolute-monarchy/).

APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)

absolute monarchy. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/absolute-monarchy/

Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “absolute monarchy.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed January 16, 2025. https://sociologydictionary.org/absolute-monarchy/.

MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

“absolute monarchy.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 16 Jan. 2025. <https://sociologydictionary.org/absolute-monarchy/>.