politics
noun
Simple meaning
A methodology and activities associated with running a government, an organization, or a movement.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
pahluhtiksSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈpɑlətɪks
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 profession devoted to governing and to political affairs
countable
The profession of conducting political affairs.
countable
A methodology and activities associated with running a government, an organization, or a movement.
treated as a plural noun
One's political stands and opinions.
uncountable
Political maneuvers or diplomacy between people, groups, or organizations, especially involving power, standing, influence or conflict.
in the singularinformal
Real-world beliefs and social issues irrelevant to the topic at hand.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner (estimated)
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- General English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (treated as a plural noun) One's political stands and opinions.
Used this way, politics 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
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where it naturally appears
- Government/politics
Nearby words
- political sympathies , rarer, so it draws attention
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use politics
- “Unemployment dominated the politics of the inter-war years.”noun
- “Office politics is often counterproductive.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Similar Words, What’s the Difference?
Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.
The organization that is the governing authority of a political unit.
The systematic study of government and politics.
The opinion you hold with respect to political questions.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
Involving or characteristic of politics or parties or politicians.
With regard to social relationships involving authority.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Diplomacy in which the nations threaten to use force in order to obtain their objectives.
Politics based on practical rather than moral or ideological considerations.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
A person active in party politics.
A person active in party politics.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
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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.