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

That sidelined or removed dozens of senior officials including two former presidents and Vietnam’s parliamentary head, dramatically reshaping the party’s balance of power. —Aniruddha Ghosal, Los Angeles Times, 23 Jan. 2026

Several prominent opposition figures remain behind bars, including Juan Pablo Guanipa, a key ally of Machado accused by authorities of plotting against upcoming regional and parliamentary elections. —Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 22 Jan. 2026

The study revealed a limited understanding of the opponents in the parliamentary elections due to the limited information available. —Midhat Zwayen, Forbes.com, 21 Jan. 2026

Voters delivered a clear rebuke at the ballot box, handing parliamentary seats to opposition parties and stripping the LDP of its majority. —Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 21 Jan. 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