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suzerainty

noun/ˈsuːzərənti/

C2CEFR level
92/100Rarity: very rare
TechnicalRegister

The dominance or supremacy of one state or ruler over a subordinate but partly self-governing one.

The treaty left the smaller kingdom nominally independent while acknowledging the empire's suzerainty.

Similar: overlordship, dominion, sovereignty

Origin: From French 'suzerain', modelled on 'souverain' (sovereign).

Topic: power in General English

Rarity runs from 0 (a word everyone knows) to 100 (almost never seen outside specialist or literary writing). Level is the word's real difficulty on the CEFR scale, from A1 to C2.

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More general words: power