participatory

adjective par·tic·i·pa·to·ry \ pär-ˈti-sə-pə-ˌtȯr-ē , pər- \

Updated on: 14 Apr 2018

Definition of participatory

: characterized by or involving participation; especially : providing the opportunity for individual participation

participatory democracy

participatory management

See participatory defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of participatory from the Web

The college exposure for our athletes will be significantly increased, and the ability for all students to be able to make an athletic team will be enhanced by having more competitive and participatory options.

— Courant Community, "Community News For The Putnam Edition," 3 Apr. 2018
John Sanborn, and Monet Clark, multi-screen, audience participatory performance/video installation.

— chronicle staff report, San Francisco Chronicle, "Art listings," 29 Mar. 2018
The incredibly helpful team at Ritz-Carlton’s Guest Services shaped three exclusive and somewhat off-menu experiences for us, based on my request for participatory interactions focused around Buddhism.

— alex postman, Condé Nast Traveler, "A Mother and Son Search for Zen in Kyoto," 29 Mar. 2018
The piece, directed by Rep artistic chief Sam Woodhouse, is so participatory that attendees are even invited to bring an item for a community pot luck to be held right on the stage of the Rep’s Lyceum Theatre.

— james hebert, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Audience gets on board in San Diego Rep's interactive world premiere of 'Beachtown'," 16 Mar. 2018
The new law also embraces some progressive ideas such as obligatory participatory budgeting in larger cities.

— kamil marcinkiewicz, Washington Post, "Democratic elections in Poland face a new threat," 11 Jan. 2018
Story papers were not simply thrilling, but, in a particularly modern sense, participatory.

— betsy golden kellem, Smithsonian, "The 19th-Century “Golden Hours” Convention Brought Young Readers Together to Meet Their Literary Heroes," 9 Mar. 2018
Government by corporate fiat is unequal, unfair, haphazard — and no substitute for the fundamentals of a participatory democracy that America was founded on.

— will bunch, Philly.com, "This is America, 2018. Government is dead. Corporations rule. Their 'electorate' is consumers | Will Bunch," 4 Mar. 2018
The fact that those who support greater restrictions on gun ownership have not convinced a large enough number of their fellow citizens to take up their cause in a more participatory manner is not the fault of those who disagree with them.

— james davenport, Newsweek, "The Four Reasons Congress Won’t Do Anything About Gun Control," 23 Feb. 2018

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

First Known Use of participatory

1881

PARTICIPATORY Defined for English Language Learners

participatory

adjective

Definition of participatory for English Language Learners

: providing the opportunity for people to be involved in deciding how something is done

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Britannica English: Translation of participatory for Arabic speakers

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