noun

conqueror

KAHNG-kur-ur/ˈkɑːŋkərər/

A person who defeats others or takes control by force.

The conqueror takes control of the city after a long siege.

Historical armored conqueror receives a city's keys outside its gate, sober scene.

Etymology

conLatinperhaps adds emphasis

+querLatinto seek, gain

+orOld Frenchperson who acts

Seeking or gaining, with a possibly intensive prefix, underlies the sense of winning through effort. The agent ending identifies the person who does this, specifically one who defeats opponents or subjugates a people or country.

In context

PeriscopeFilm II2:35

court the extraordinary risk all my life i have wanted to lead a lot of men in a desperate battle he has written i will leave the beaches either a conqueror or a corpse by spring 1943

GEORGE S. PATTON AND THE THIRD ARMY 1960 DOCUMENTARY FILM 25894

More examples

The defeated king kneels before his conqueror.
Foreign conquerors impose new laws on the region.
The general dreams of becoming a great conqueror.

Forms

conqueror · conquerors

conquer verb — To defeat or take control by force.

conquest noun — The act of taking control by force.

Similar words

victor: Names a winner, without necessarily implying force or control.
invader: Enters territory by force but may not gain control.