Word.ws English Dictionary

governor general

UK/ˈɡʌv(ə)nə ˌdʒɛnɹəl/US/ˈɡʌvənɚ ˌdʒɛn(ə)ɹəl/

governor general noun: an official appointed by the reigning British monarch to govern a Commonwealth realm as the monarch's representative.

Noun

governor general (plural governors general)

  1. (Australia, Canada, New Zealand) An official appointed by the reigning British monarch to govern a Commonwealth realm as the monarch's representative.
    • In 1968, as one of the projects sponsored by the federal Centennial Commission, Irma Coucill was asked to add drawings of all the Governors General and Prime Ministers since Confederation.2005, Irma Coucill, Preface: Canada′s Prime Ministers, Governors General and Fathers of Confederation, page 7
    • But in a minority government scenario, the governor general might still be called upon to play a part.2009, Rand Dyck, Canadian Politics, page 320
  2. An official in a similar position in other countries.
    • The practice and usage have been recognised in a variety of instances by the Governors General of Louisiana.1831, United States Congress, Congressional Edition, Volume 203, page 5
    • Because of the military′s autonomy in the Japanese political system, the relationships of the governors general in Korea to the prime minister′s office in Japan remained ambiguous.1988, John Whitney Hall, The Cambridge History of Japan: Heian Japan, page 246

Proper noun capitalized: Governor General

Governor General (plural Governors General)

  1. (alternative) Alternative form of governor general.

governor general meaning in Arabic, Malay, Indonesian and Vietnamese

governor general in Arabic

governor or viceroy possessing some military authority
حَاكِم عَامّ ḥākim ʕāmm
representative of the monarch
حَاكِم عَامّ ḥākim ʕāmm

governor general in Malay

governor or viceroy possessing some military authority
gabenor jeneral
representative of the monarch
gabenor jeneral

governor general in Indonesian

governor or viceroy possessing some military authority
gubernur jenderal
representative of the monarch
gubernur jenderal

governor general in Vietnamese

governor or viceroy possessing some military authority
thống đốc
representative of the monarch
thống đốc

Synonyms of governor general

  • GG
  • G-G
  • G.G.
  • G.-G.
  • G. G.

Forms of governor general

Noun
pluralgovernors general
alternative formgovernor-general
Proper noun
pluralGovernors General

Questions about governor general

What does governor general mean?
Governor general means an official appointed by the reigning British monarch to govern a Commonwealth realm as the monarch's representative.
What is governor general in Arabic?
Governor general in Arabic is حَاكِم عَامّ (ḥākim ʕāmm). See Governor general meaning in Arabic.
What part of speech is governor general?
Governor general can be a noun or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce governor general?
Governor general is pronounced /ˈɡʌvənɚ ˌdʒɛn(ə)ɹəl/ (US).
What is the plural of governor general?
The plural of governor general is governors general.

Words near governor general in the dictionary

  1. governments-general
  2. governments-in-exile
  3. governmentwide
  4. governmentwise
  5. governor
  6. governor general
  7. Governor Generoso
  8. governor plum
  9. governor plums
  10. Governor Winthrop desk
  11. Governor Winthrop desks

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: governor general (page history and authors); Governor General (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: EN-AU ck1 governor general.ogg.

Cite this entry: “governor general.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/governor_general. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.