polity

noun

pol·​i·​ty ˈpä-lə-tē 

plural polities

1

: political organization

2

: a specific form of political organization

3

: a politically organized unit

4

a

: the form or constitution of a politically organized unit

b

: the form of government of a religious denomination

Examples of polity in a Sentence

the polities of medieval Italy

Recent Examples on the Web

The fact that Americans, white and Black, made these cosmopolitan connections reminds us that, although the American war for independence was in the (recent) past, the American Revolution—the meaning, and quality of the new polity—was very much in flux. —Time, 9 June 2025

Abbas’s successor will have to resolve this dilemma by unifying the fractured Palestinian polity, including incorporating Hamas into formal political structures, such as the PLO. —Khaled Elgindy, Foreign Affairs, 30 Aug. 2024

That’s what a democracy of mind and heart, as well as economy and polity, would look like. —Rebecca Solnit may 31, Literary Hub, 31 May 2024

Still, impeachment was intended as and remains a tool to remove high-level public officials who are engaged in gross negligence in the performance of their duties in ways that threaten public order and the polity as a whole. —New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 29 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

probably borrowed from Late Latin polītīa "citizenship, political organization, constitution of a state, administrative direction," with ending conformed to -ity — more at police entry 1

First Known Use

1538, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for polity

• jollity
• quality
• causality
• equality
• frivolity
• sodality
• inequality