Empire1. (n.) Supreme power; sovereignty; sway; dominion.
2. (n.) The dominion of an emperor; the territory or countries under the jurisdiction and dominion of an emperor (rarely of a king), usually of greater extent than a kingdom, always comprising a variety in the nationality of, or the forms of administration in, constituent and subordinate portions; as, the Austrian empire.
3. (n.) Any dominion; supreme control; governing influence; rule; sway; as, the empire of mind or of reason.
Thesaurus Entries
administration, ally, archduchy, archdukedom, authority, body politic, buffer state, caliphate, captive nation, chieftaincy, chieftainry, city-state, civil government, claws, clutches, colony, command, commonweal, commonwealth, control, country, county, czardom, direction, discipline, dispensation, disposition, domain, dominion, duchy, dukedom, earldom, emperorship, empery, form of government, free city, governance, government, grand duchy, grip, hand, hands, imperialism, iron hand, jurisdiction, kaiserdom, kinghood, kingship, land, majesty, management, mandant, mandate, mandated territory, mandatee, mandatory, nation, nationality, oversight, polis, political organization, polity, possession, power, principality, principate, protectorate, province, puppet government, puppet regime, queenhood, queenship, raj, rajaship, realm, regime, regimen, regnancy, regulation, reign, republic, royalty, rule, satellite, seneschalty, settlement, sovereign nation, sovereignty, state, sultanate, sultanship, superpower, supervision, sway, system of government, talons, territory, the crown, the throne, toparchia, toparchy