constituent

con·stit·u·ent | \ kən-ˈstich-wənt

, -ˈsti-chə-, -ˈsti-chü-ənt \

Definition of constituent

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : a member of a constituency pledged to help her elderly constituents

2 : an essential part : component, element The organic constituents of plants, animals, and microorganisms …— Harry S. Mosher et al.

3 : one who authorizes another to act as agent : principal

4 : a structural unit of a definable syntactic, semantic, or phonological category that consists of one or more linguistic elements (such as words, morphemes, or features) and that can occur as a component of a larger construction

constituent

adjective

Definition of constituent (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : serving to form, compose, or make up a unit or whole : component constituent parts

2 : having the power to create a government or frame or amend a constitution a constituent assembly

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Choose the Right Synonym for constituent

Noun

element, component, constituent, ingredient mean one of the parts of a compound or complex whole. element applies to any such part and often connotes irreducible simplicity. the basic elements of geometry component and constituent may designate any of the substances (whether elements or compounds) or the qualities that enter into the makeup of a complex product; component stresses its separate entity or distinguishable character. the components of a stereo system constituent stresses its essential and formative character. the constituents of a chemical compound ingredient applies to any of the substances which when combined form a particular mixture. the ingredients of a cocktail

Examples of constituent in a Sentence

Noun She's pledged to help her elderly constituents. Many senators have received calls from constituents who want them to vote in favor of the law. the chemical constituents of the liquid Adjective The company can be separated into several constituent parts.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun This is a drug that occurs naturally in plants and is one of the active constituents in ayahuasca. — Bruce Finley, The Denver Post, "Metro Denver police raid suspected hallucinogenic drug factory in Commerce City house," 24 Nov. 2019 As the wrangling continues, EPRDF’s constituent parties from the Oromia, Amhara and Tigray regions are asserting themselves more than ever. — Yohannes Gedamu, Quartz Africa, "Ethiopians are losing faith in prime minister Abiy’s promises for peace," 16 Nov. 2019 Politically, the notion of supporting such organizations should be attractive, because the workers served by most of them tend to be core Democratic constituents. — Eli Lehrer, National Review, "How the Trump Administration Should Help Nontraditional Labor Organizations," 7 Nov. 2019 Solitude is not the opposite of public gathering, but one of its constituent threads. — Leslie Jamison, The Atlantic, "The Lovely Solitude of Standing in a Crowd," 6 Nov. 2019 Students, professionals and constituents throughout the state of Florida took to social media on Oct. 28 to declare there is no place for hate in a state-wide call to action. — Sergio Carmona, sun-sentinel.com, "Floridians stand up against hate on social media," 1 Nov. 2019 The showrunners already have a three-season structure in mind, one for each of the constituent books: The Golden Compass a.k.a Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass. — Christian Holub, EW.com, "Philip Pullman goes deep on The Secret Commonwealth and the future of His Dark Materials," 18 Oct. 2019 Rouda to speak during Laguna Beach Democratic Club event Rep. Harley Rouda (D-Laguna Beach) addresses constituents during his first district town hall meeting in Costa Mesa in February. — Daily Pilot, "Political Landscape: Laguna receives $1M from state to remove and modify vegetation that could fuel wildfires," 8 Oct. 2019 Some of its constituent compounds have intriguing medicinal properties and can be synthesized more cheaply in the laboratory. — Rachel Crowell, Scientific American, "Scorpion Venom Could Lead to New Antibiotics," 4 Oct. 2019 Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective The compromise law, known as section 18-10b, was intended to mollify lawmakers who were afraid of constituent reaction if their votes left the state with no capital punishment of any kind. — Edmund H. Mahony, courant.com, "A federal judge is challenging how Connecticut treats its former death row inmates, saying they are held under cruel and unusual conditions," 21 Oct. 2019 All of these legislative and constituent pressures are converting Congress from an institution that could once think problems through to responsible conclusions into one that substitutes political reflex for reflection. — James L. Buckley, National Review, "Preserving Our Republic as Federal Government Expands," 6 Feb. 2018 Our theory of change here is that the power that any individual local activist has is constituent power. — Michelle Goldberg, Slate Magazine, "How Chuck Schumer Found His Spine," 30 Jan. 2017 May 9, 2017 Constituent questions about health care have dominated Labrador’s latest run of town hall meetings around his district, which covers the entire western part of the state from the Canadian border south to the Nevada line. — Bill Dentzer, idahostatesman, "Labrador files papers for governor run, plans announcement in ‘coming weeks’," 9 May 2017 Constituent pressure such as this led two Republican senators to abandon support for Trump’s education secretary nominee, who was confirmed only when Vice President Pence broke a Senate deadlock. — Sandhya Somashekhar, Washington Post, "Trump has galvanized activists on the left. Can they stay energized?," 29 Apr. 2017 Afterward, most constituent mail is scanned and forwarded to congressional offices as an electronic image. — Kathryn Schulz, The New Yorker, "What Calling Congress Achieves," 6 Mar. 2017 Presidents have dealt with constituent mail differently over the years. — Jeanne Marie Laskas, New York Times, "To Obama With Love, and Hate, and Desperation," 17 Jan. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'constituent.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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constituent structure

constituta

constituta pecunia

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Last Updated

1 Dec 2019

Cite this Entry

“Constituent.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/constituent. Accessed 10 December 2019.

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More Definitions for constituent

constituent

noun