plenary

adjective ple·na·ry \ ˈple-nə-rē also ˈplē- \

|Updated on: 16 Jul 2018

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Examples: plenary in a Sentence

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Definition of plenary

1 : complete in every respect : absolute, unqualified

plenary power

2 : fully attended or constituted by all entitled to be present

a plenary session

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Examples of plenary in a Sentence

A plenary meeting of the 500 members was held last summer.
plenary sessions of the legislature

Recent Examples of plenary from the Web

At the blockbuster plenary sessions, the chairs stretched so far back that even the most youthful Silicon Valley college dropouts-turned VC hoovers had to squint to see the action up in front.

— aarian marshall, WIRED, "Home From the Honeymoon, the Self-Driving Car Industry Faces Reality," 13 July 2018
On Thursday, a plenary session of the entire parliament voted by 318 votes to 278 to reject the legal affairs committee’s fast-tracking approach.

— david meyer, Fortune, "Not So Fast: Europe's Controversial New Copyright Law Was Just Held Up After an Intense Lobbying War," 5 July 2018
Three Spanish and one Italian lawmaker joined the mission as observers and plan to share their accounts at the next European plenary session July 2-5 in Strasbourg.

— Fox News, "The Latest: Norway joins nations accepting Lifeline migrants," 28 June 2018
As Bulgaria celebrates the 75th anniversary of the rescue of Bulgarian Jews, Borissov took part in the plenary session of the conference and met with the president of the World Jewish Congress, Ronald S. Lauder.

— yossi lempkowicz, Jewish Journal, "Netanyahu thanks Bulgarian leader for defending Israel in E.U.," 13 June 2018
Such an election was last held at a PNC plenary session in 1996 in Gaza.

— Washington Post, "Palestinians vote on aging leadership as Abbas tightens grip," 29 Apr. 2018
North Korea meanwhile will hold a plenary meeting of its ruling party's central committee on Friday, state media KCNA said on Thursday.

— author: joyce lee, stephanie nebehay, Anchorage Daily News, "North Korea seeks ‘complete denuclearization’, South says, as U.S. vows continued pressure," 9 Apr. 2018
Both were approved by IPBES’s 129 member states at an ongoing plenary session in Medellín, Colombia.

— chelsea harvey, Scientific American, "Climate Change Is Becoming a Top Threat to Biodiversity," 28 Mar. 2018
Nigerian lawmakers debated the efficacy of ransoms at a special plenary session in February after the Dapchi kidnapping.

— joe parkinson, WSJ, "Nigerian Schoolgirls Freed After Kidnapping by Islamist Militants," 21 Mar. 2018

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

Did You Know?

In the 14th century, the monk Robert of Brunne described a situation in which all the knights of King Arthur's Round Table were present at court by writing, "When Arthures court was plener, and alle were comen, fer and ner. . . ." For 200 years, "plener" (also spelled "plenar") served English well for both senses that we reserve for "plenary" today. But we'd borrowed "plener" from Anglo-French, and, although the French had relied on Latin plenus ("full") for their word, the revival of interest in the Classics during the English Renaissance led scholars to prefer purer Latin origins. In the 15th century, English speakers turned to Late Latin plenarius and came up with "plenary." ("Plenarius" also comes from "plenus," which is the source of our "plenty" and "replenish" as well.)

Origin and Etymology of plenary

Middle English, from Late Latin plenarius, from Latin plenus full — more at full

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First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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plenary Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of plenary

full, complete, plenary, replete mean containing all that is wanted or needed or possible. full implies the presence or inclusion of everything that is wanted or required by something or that can be held, contained, or attained by it.