leadership
noun
Simple meaning
The capacity of someone to lead others.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
leedershipSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈlidɚʃɪp
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
The status of a leader
“They challenged his leadership of the union.”
The capacity of someone to lead others.
The ability to lead
“He believed that leadership can be taught.”
The body of people who lead a group
“The national leadership adopted his plan.”
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The status of a leader
Used this way, leadership is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“They challenged his leadership of the union.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Usage note
It most often appears in the pattern “leadership of …”, which is worth copying when you use it.
Natural pattern: leadership of …
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
How It’s Used
The word’s distinct uses, one example each.
Statusnoun
“They challenged his leadership of the union.”
Abilitynoun
“He believed that leadership can be taught.”
Bodynoun
“The national leadership adopted his plan.”
More ways to use leadership
- “He believed that leadership can be taught.”noun
- “They challenged his leadership of the union.”noun
- “The national leadership adopted his plan.”noun
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Keep learning “leadership” by choosing the kind of practice you need next.
- Practice sentence writingWrite sentences with vocabulary and get instant feedback.
- Practice in contextAnswer short vocabulary questions drawn from real situations.
- Review vocabularyTest your recall and strengthen words over time.
- Practice typingType vocabulary in short rounds that draw from words you've learned and saved.
Want to type words like this one without looking at the keyboard? Each typing round draws from words you've learned, saved or need to review. Follow the free Learn to Type lessons and type your own vocabulary with confidence.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.