Meanings
nounhead of state (plural heads of state or (rare) heads of states)
plural heads of state · plural rare heads of states
- The chief public representative of a nation having duties, privileges and responsibilities varying greatly depending on the constitutional rules; a monarch in a monarchy, and often styled president in a republic, but variations such as collegiality exist.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounthe chief public representative of a country who may also be the head of government
Similar
Broader
Also see
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Afrikaans staatshoof
- staatshoofthe chief public representative of a nation
Arabic رَئِيس دَوْلَة
- رَئِيس دَوْلَة (raʔīs dawla)the chief public representative of a nation
Basque estatuburu
- estatuburuthe chief public representative of a nation
Bengali রাষ্ট্রপ্রধান
- রাষ্ট্রপ্রধান (raśṭroprodhan)the chief public representative of a nation
Bulgarian държа́вен глава́
- държа́вен глава́ (dăržáven glavá)the chief public representative of a nation
Catalan cap d'estat
- cap d'estatthe chief public representative of a nation
Chinese Mandarin 國家元首 /国家元首, 元首
- 國家元首 /国家元首 (guójiā yuánshǒu)the chief public representative of a nation
- 元首 (yuánshǒu)the chief public representative of a nation
- 政府首腦 /政府首脑 (zhèngfǔ shǒunǎo)the chief public representative of a nation
Czech hlava státu
- hlava státuthe chief public representative of a nation
Danish statsoverhoved
- statsoverhovedthe chief public representative of a nation
Dutch staatshoofd
- staatshoofdthe chief public representative of a nation
Esperanto ŝtatestro
- ŝtatestrothe chief public representative of a nation
Estonian riigipea
- riigipeathe chief public representative of a nation
Finnish valtionpäämies
- valtionpäämiesthe chief public representative of a nation
French chef d'État
- chef d'Étatthe chief public representative of a nation
German Staatsoberhaupt, Staatschef
- Staatsoberhauptthe chief public representative of a nation
- Staatschefthe chief public representative of a nation
Greek επικεφαλής του κράτους
- επικεφαλής του κράτους (epikefalís tou krátous)the chief public representative of a nation
Hebrew רֹאשׁ־מְדִינָה
- רֹאשׁ־מְדִינָה (rosh m'diná)the chief public representative of a nation
Hindi राष्ट्रप्रमुख, राष्ट्राध्यक्ष
- राष्ट्रप्रमुख (rāṣṭrapramukh)the chief public representative of a nation
- राष्ट्राध्यक्ष (rāṣṭrādhyakṣ)the chief public representative of a nation
- राज्यप्रमुख (rājyapramukh)the chief public representative of a nation
Hungarian államfő
- államfőthe chief public representative of a nation
Icelandic þjóðhöfðingi
- þjóðhöfðingithe chief public representative of a nation
Indonesian kepala negara
- kepala negarathe chief public representative of a nation
Irish ceann stáit
- ceann stáitthe chief public representative of a nation
Italian capo di stato
- capo di statothe chief public representative of a nation
Japanese 国家元首, 元首
- 国家元首 (kokkagenshu)the chief public representative of a nation
- 元首 (genshu)the chief public representative of a nation
Korean 국가원수, 원수
- 국가원수 (gukgawonsu)the chief public representative of a nation
- 원수 (wonsu)the chief public representative of a nation
Latvian valsts vadītājs
- valsts vadītājsthe chief public representative of a nation
Lithuanian valstybės vadovas
- valstybės vadovasthe chief public representative of a nation
Malay ketua negara
- ketua negarathe chief public representative of a nation
Norwegian Bokmål statsoverhode
- statsoverhodethe chief public representative of a nation
Persian رئیس کشور
- رئیس کشور (ra'is-e kešvar)the chief public representative of a nation
Polish głowa państwa
- głowa państwathe chief public representative of a nation
Portuguese chefe de estado
- chefe de estadothe chief public representative of a nation
Romanian șef de stat
- șef de statthe chief public representative of a nation
Russian глава́ госуда́рства
- глава́ госуда́рства (glavá gosudárstva)the chief public representative of a nation
Slovak hlava štátu
- hlava štátuthe chief public representative of a nation
Spanish jefe de estado, mandatario
- jefe de estadothe chief public representative of a nation
- mandatariothe chief public representative of a nation
Swahili mkuu wa nchi, mkuu wa dola
- mkuu wa nchithe chief public representative of a nation
- mkuu wa dolathe chief public representative of a nation
Swedish statschef, statsöverhuvud
- statschefthe chief public representative of a nation
- statsöverhuvudthe chief public representative of a nation
Tagalog pinuno ng estado
- pinuno ng estadothe chief public representative of a nation
Tamil நாட்டுத் தலைவர்
- நாட்டுத் தலைவர் (nāṭṭut talaivar)the chief public representative of a nation
Thai ประมุขแห่งรัฐ
- ประมุขแห่งรัฐ (bprà-múk-hɛ̀ng-rát)the chief public representative of a nation
Turkish devlet başkanı
- devlet başkanıthe chief public representative of a nation
Ukrainian голова́ держа́ви
- голова́ держа́ви (holová deržávy)the chief public representative of a nation
Urdu سربراہ ریاست, صدر مملکت
- سربراہ ریاست (sarabrāh riyāsat)the chief public representative of a nation
- صدر مملکت (sadar-e-mamlakat)the chief public representative of a nation
Vietnamese nguyên thủ quốc gia, quốc trưởng
- nguyên thủ quốc giathe chief public representative of a nation
- quốc trưởngthe chief public representative of a nation
Cite this entry
APA
head of state. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/head%20of%20state
MLA
“head of state.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/head%20of%20state. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “head of state,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/head%20of%20state.
Source: head of state on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.