: the existing state of affairs
seeks to preserve the status quo
Examples of status quo in a Sentence
He is content with the status quo and does not like change.
civic leaders who are afraid to do anything that might change the town's status quo
Recent Examples on the Web
The growing push for change has been shaped by a series of cultural milestones and high-profile moments that challenged Hollywood’s status quo.
—
Essence, 28 July 2025
Scientific reliability is swapped out in exchange for braggadocio about disrupting a medical status quo that may not even need it.
—Arthur Caplan & James Tabery, Scientific American, 28 July 2025
For foreign nationals abroad, however, who paid into the same Social Security system, the current status quo for NRAs means 30% withholding and no access to any deductions, including the new senior deduction.
—Virginia La Torre Jeker, Forbes.com, 27 July 2025
The failure of this status quo is clear to Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state legislators who won passage of surprisingly strong revisions of the California Environmental Quality Act in late June.
—U T Editorial Board, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for status quo
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Essence, 28 July 2025
Scientific reliability is swapped out in exchange for braggadocio about disrupting a medical status quo that may not even need it.
—Arthur Caplan & James Tabery, Scientific American, 28 July 2025
For foreign nationals abroad, however, who paid into the same Social Security system, the current status quo for NRAs means 30% withholding and no access to any deductions, including the new senior deduction.
—Virginia La Torre Jeker, Forbes.com, 27 July 2025
The failure of this status quo is clear to Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state legislators who won passage of surprisingly strong revisions of the California Environmental Quality Act in late June.
—U T Editorial Board, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for status quo
Cite this Entry
“Status quo.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/status%20quo. Accessed 3 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
status quo
noun
: the existing state of affairs
specifically
: the last actual and uncontested state of affairs that preceded a controversy and that is to be preserved by preliminary injunction compare status quo ante
Etymology
Latin, state in which
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