political
adjective · noun
Simple meaning
Of or about the profession of governing.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
puhlituhkuhlSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
pəˈlɪtəkəl
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.
adjective
Concerning or relating to politics, the art and process of governing.
Of or relating to the profession of governing
Concerning a polity or its administrative components.
Of or relating to your views about social relationships involving authority or power
Of or relating to views about social relationships that involve power, standing, influence or conflict.
Involving or characteristic of politics or parties or politicians
“Calling a meeting is a political act in itself"- Daniel Goleman.”
noun
A political agent or officer.
A publication focusing on politics.
A political prisoner.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner (estimated)
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Concerning or relating to politics, the art and process of governing.
Used this way, political is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It turns up most in government or politics contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Official and authoritative
- Usage feel
- Formal and precise
Where it naturally appears
- Government/politics
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use political
- “Calling a meeting is a political act in itself"- Daniel Goleman.”adjective
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
A leader engaged in civil administration.
The form of government of a social organization.
A courteous manner that respects accepted social usage.
Marked by artful prudence, expedience, and shrewdness.
With regard to social relationships involving authority.
In a polite manner.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Avoidance of expressions or actions that can be perceived to exclude or marginalize or insult people who are socially disadvantaged or discriminated against.
Avoidance of expressions or actions that can be perceived to exclude or marginalize or insult people who are socially disadvantaged or discriminated against.
Some held in custody.
A dissenter from political orthodoxy.
A contribution made to a politician or a political campaign or a political party.
The branch of social science that deals with the production and distribution and consumption of goods and services and their management.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
The chief executive and political committee of the Communist Party.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
- democracynoun
- legislativeadjective
- activismnoun
- partynoun
- socialistnoun
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Antonyms
Sense: concerning or relating to politics
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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.