political

adjective

po·lit·i·cal pə-ˈli-ti-kəl

: of or relating to government, a government, or the conduct of government

: of, relating to, or concerned with the making as distinguished from the administration of governmental policy

: of, relating to, involving, or involved in politics and especially party politics

: organized in governmental terms

political units

: involving or charged or concerned with acts against a government or a political system

political prisoners

politically

pə-ˈli-ti-k(ə-)lē

adverb

Example Sentences

The senator has changed political parties. Health care has become a major political issue in recent years. a group of political activists We need a political solution rather than a military solution.

Recent Examples on the Web One, the Iranians want to get out from political isolation in the region. —

CBS News, 22 Mar. 2023 United by a common enemy and the upcoming wedding of their political dilettante brother, Connor (Alan Ruck), the Roy siblings spend a good deal of time together in the early episodes — and not all the talk is about business. —

Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 22 Mar. 2023 Nigeria’s political establishment seems to have woken up to the power of the online caucuses. —

WIRED, 22 Mar. 2023 Ridley-Thomas emailed Bill Wong, a Sacramento political consultant, and blind-copied his son. —

Matt Hamilton, Los Angeles Times, 22 Mar. 2023 The mere existence of the high school Advanced Placement course in African American Studies has become a political wedge. —

Michelle Garcia, NBC News, 22 Mar. 2023 Again, there’s a political divide: About three-quarters of Republicans but only a third of Democrats expect the national economy to worsen. —

Paul Wiseman, Fortune, 22 Mar. 2023 Following the 2008 Beijing Olympics, however, China’s domestic political climate and external behavior began to change. —

Mike Chinoy, CNN, 22 Mar. 2023 The actress is also known for playing Lindsay Denton in the police drama Line of Duty and Julia Montague in the political thriller Bodyguard. —

Ilana Frost, Peoplemag, 22 Mar. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'political.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.