variants
or referendums
as in votes
an event in which the electorate votes for or against a law that deals with a specific issue
They are having a referendum so the public can decide the controversial issue.
Related Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of referenda
The constitutional changes also envisage the creation of a new body, the People’s Council, alongside parliament, empowered to initiate legislation and referendums.
—
ABC News, 16 Mar. 2026
Voters will weigh in on eight referendums.
—Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 16 Mar. 2026
Unlike other bond sale referendums for separate units of government, the vote is advisory because under Illinois law the library is designated as a local library.
—Daniel I. Dorfman, Chicago Tribune, 11 Mar. 2026
Cobb and Gwinnett counties would be blocked from pursuing countywide transit referendums until at least 2032 under legislation being considered by state lawmakers.
—Sara Gregory, AJC.com, 3 Mar. 2026
But the ordinance would add a new checkpoint in the form of future ballot referendums.
—Claudia Levens, jsonline.com, 2 Mar. 2026
Residents of two cities, towns and villages in Broward and 19 in Palm Beach County are electing local officials, deciding on referendums, or both.
—Anthony Man, Sun Sentinel, 25 Feb. 2026
Twice in the last 12 years, California voters rejected referendums seeking to abolish the death penalty.
—Ishani Desai, Sacramento Bee, 2 Jan. 2025
They’ve been supposed referendums on what Notre Dame football can be in the modern age.
—Pete Sampson, The Athletic, 2 Jan. 2025
ABC News, 16 Mar. 2026
Voters will weigh in on eight referendums.
—Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 16 Mar. 2026
Unlike other bond sale referendums for separate units of government, the vote is advisory because under Illinois law the library is designated as a local library.
—Daniel I. Dorfman, Chicago Tribune, 11 Mar. 2026
Cobb and Gwinnett counties would be blocked from pursuing countywide transit referendums until at least 2032 under legislation being considered by state lawmakers.
—Sara Gregory, AJC.com, 3 Mar. 2026
But the ordinance would add a new checkpoint in the form of future ballot referendums.
—Claudia Levens, jsonline.com, 2 Mar. 2026
Residents of two cities, towns and villages in Broward and 19 in Palm Beach County are electing local officials, deciding on referendums, or both.
—Anthony Man, Sun Sentinel, 25 Feb. 2026
Twice in the last 12 years, California voters rejected referendums seeking to abolish the death penalty.
—Ishani Desai, Sacramento Bee, 2 Jan. 2025
They’ve been supposed referendums on what Notre Dame football can be in the modern age.
—Pete Sampson, The Athletic, 2 Jan. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for referenda
Noun
-
That is the number of votes required to invoke cloture, end debate, break a filibuster, and allow the bill in question to proceed to a final vote on the floor.—
W. James Antle III,
The Washington Examiner,
20 Mar. 2026
-
Our lawmakers who passed this act have their rewards, and doubtless many of them got rewarded with votes in the last election because of it.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
20 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
During that search, FBI agents seized hundreds of boxes of ballots and other voting records.—
Dan Raby,
CBS News,
19 Mar. 2026
-
Those allies now control Georgia’s State Election Board and provided the claims cited by the FBI in its seizure of the 2020 ballots from Fulton County, a strongly Democratic area at the center of never-ending fraud claims.—
Jeff Amy,
Fortune,
19 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Referenda.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/referenda. Accessed 23 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
