Standard Lemma guide

vicegerent

adj · noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • /vaɪsˈd͡ʒɪəɹənt/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Having or exercising delegated power; acting by substitution, or in the place of another.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The official administrative deputy of a ruler, head of state, or church official.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • 1644, Samuel Rutherford, Lex Rex, or The Law and the Prince, 1846, The Presbyterian's Armoury, Volume 3, 211, But why are not the kings, even Nero, Julian, Nebuchadnezzar, and Belshazzar, vicegerents of Christ, as mediator, as priest, as redeemer, as prophet, as advocate, presenting our prayers to God his father?
  • 1876, The Month, volume 25, 139, In 1574, James, Cardinal Savelli, the Cardinal Vicar, a prelate most exact in sacred and ecclesiastical ceremonies, appointed him his suffragan, or as it would now be termed, Vicegerent.
  • 1944, Raphael Lemkin, Axis Rule in Occupied Europe, 2005 (with new introduction), The Lawbook Exchange, page 100, The Vicegerent was appointed by royal Italian decree of April 22, 1939. He represents in Albania the absent King and exercises in his name the rights of sovereignty.
  • 1994, Syed Nawab Haider Naqvi, Islam, Economics, and Society, 2013, Taylor & Francis Group (Routledge), page 25, By virtue of his freedom, man can either realize his theomorphic virtuality of being God's vicegerent on earth or deny himself this exalted niche by making the wrong choice.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

someone appointed by a ruler as an administrative deputy

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: deputy, surrogate

History

Etymology

From Latin vicegerens.