divine right
noun
: the right of a sovereign to rule as set forth by the theory of government that holds that a monarch receives the right to rule directly from God and not from the people
Examples of divine right in a Sentence
He ruled by divine right.
My boss seems to think he has a divine right to order people around.
Recent Examples on the Web
Virginia may have established a representative body, the House of Burgesses, in 1619, but the mid-century Cavalier elite continued to accept the divine right of kings as the Stuart monarchs had propounded it.
—
James Traub,
The Atlantic,
28 June 2026
The invocation of self-evident truths and inherent rights is a warrant for the destruction of existing order, a rhetorical erasure not only of the divine right of kings but also, more generally, of the prerogatives of power.
—
New York Times,
9 June 2026
The Lord of the Rings is a series obsessed with ruins, bloodlines, the divine right of aristocrats, and a sense of history as a tragic, endless fall from grace.
—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
5 May 2026
The technology industry and anyone seeking to leverage AI needs to take this special report seriously because there is no divine right of acceptance of innovation.
—
Richard Edelman,
Fortune,
18 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for divine right
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James Traub,
The Atlantic,
28 June 2026
The invocation of self-evident truths and inherent rights is a warrant for the destruction of existing order, a rhetorical erasure not only of the divine right of kings but also, more generally, of the prerogatives of power.
—
New York Times,
9 June 2026
The Lord of the Rings is a series obsessed with ruins, bloodlines, the divine right of aristocrats, and a sense of history as a tragic, endless fall from grace.
—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
5 May 2026
The technology industry and anyone seeking to leverage AI needs to take this special report seriously because there is no divine right of acceptance of innovation.
—
Richard Edelman,
Fortune,
18 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for divine right
Cite this Entry
“Divine right.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/divine%20right. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
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