parliamentary

adjective

par·​lia·​men·​ta·​ry ˌpär-lə-ˈmen-t(ə-)rē 

also ˌpärl-yə-

1

a

: of or relating to a parliament

parliamentary elections

parliamentary debate

b

: enacted, done, or ratified by a parliament

a parliamentary grant of money

2

: of or adhering to the parliament as opposed to the king during the English Civil War

… rendered the parliamentary armies … victorious.

—David Hume

3

: of, based on, or having the characteristics of parliamentary government

parliamentary democracy

4

: of or relating to members of a parliament

a parliamentary committee

… have the leader selected by the Parliamentary caucus.

—London Times

5

: of or according to parliamentary law

parliamentary procedure

Examples of parliamentary in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Last month, the Economist used Pangram to analyze parliamentary speeches, finding that 10% of the words spoken in the British Parliament were drafted with AI. — Gene Maddaus, Variety, 14 Oct. 2026

Unlike the United States, Israel operates under a parliamentary system, with voters casting ballots for parties to represent them in the Knesset. — Amelie Botbol, FOXNews.com, 12 Oct. 2026

But the parties and groups of parliamentary pro-Western opposition that joined forces in many districts in broad coalitions, have altogether 26 candidates making the next round. — ABC News, 11 Oct. 2026

Removing him would require a formal parliamentary process and a special majority in both houses. — Ayushi Shah, CNN Money, 10 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Medieval Latin parlamentārius, parliamentārius, from parlamentum, parliamentum parliament + Latin -ārius -ary entry 2

First Known Use

1604, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing parliamentary

• parliamentary government
• parliamentary law

Rhymes for parliamentary

• alimentary
• complimentary
• documentary
• rudimentary
• sedimentary
• supplementary
• testamentary
• integumentary
• uncomplimentary
• unparliamentary
• interparliamentary
• metasedimentary

Kids Definition

parliamentary

adjective

par·​lia·​men·​ta·​ry ˌpär-lə-ˈment-ə-rē 

-ˈmen-trē

also ˌpärl-yə-

1

: of, relating to, or enacted by a parliament

2

: of or relating to government by a cabinet whose members belong to and are responsible to the legislature

3

: of or according to the rules governing the way in which official meetings (as of a parliament or congress) are conducted

parliamentary procedure

Legal Definition

parliamentary

adjective

par·​lia·​men·​ta·​ry ˌpär-lə-ˈmen-tə-rē, ˌpärl-yə- 

1

a

: of or relating to a parliament

b

: enacted, done, or ratified by a parliament

2

: of, based on, or having the characteristics of parliamentary government

3

: of or relating to the members of a parliament

4

: of or according to parliamentary law