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

The Islamic Action Front, a political party linked to the regionwide Brotherhood, won the most seats in parliamentary elections held last year against the backdrop of mass protests against Israel over its war with Hamas. —Omar Akour, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2025

Exploration doesn’t mean commercial mining will happen—after companies locate minerals on the seabed, another parliamentary vote followed by extensive environmental reviews would be required before full-scale extraction is allowed. —Christian Elliott, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Apr. 2025

Then, in an unprecedented collusion between big tech and U.S. state power, Trump handed Musk the reins of the U.S. government just as the world’s richest man was using his social media platform to prop up the neofascist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in the German parliamentary elections. —Anu Bradford, Foreign Affairs, 21 Apr. 2025

In the territory’s recent parliamentary election, independence was the major campaign issue, with the business-friendly Demokraatit party — which supports Greenland breaking free from Denmark eventually — winning a plurality of voters. —Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 18 Apr. 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