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

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

Visit the Binnenhof, one of Europe’s oldest parliamentary buildings and stroll past Noordeinde Palace, the working palace of the Dutch king. —Joanne Shurvell, Forbes.com, 19 May 2025

Reuters — Portugal’s ruling center-right Democratic Alliance (AD) won a snap parliamentary election on Sunday but again fell short of the majority needed to end a long period of instability as the far-right Chega gained a record share of the vote. —Reuters, CNN Money, 19 May 2025

In December 1970, Pakistan held parliamentary elections amid widespread demands by Bengalis for greater autonomy. —Simon Montlake, Christian Science Monitor, 16 May 2025

Trump and his Republican allies are seeking to use a parliamentary sleight-of-hand known as reconciliation to renew his signature tax cuts and enact big spending cuts. —Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 13 May 2025

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