sovereign
SOV-rinadjMeaning having supreme power; independent and self-governing
Memory hook sove-REIGN: REIGNS over itself. The little island kingdom reigns over itself and takes orders from no one. It is sovereign.
After a long struggle, the island became a sovereign nation with its own flag.
In context The treaty recognized the little kingdom as sovereign: no larger country could tax its people or overrule its laws.
Similar independent, self-governing, autonomous, supreme
Opposite dependent, subject, subordinate
From Old French soverain, “highest, supreme,” from Latin super (above).