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apolitical

American  
[ey-puh-lit-i-kuhl] / ˌeɪ pəˈlɪt ɪ kəl /

adjective

  1. not political; of no political significance.

    an apolitical organization.

  2. not involved or interested in politics.


apolitical British  
/ ˌeɪpəˈlɪtɪkəl /

adjective

  1. politically neutral; without political attitudes, content, or bias

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Etymology

Origin of apolitical

First recorded in 1950–55; a- 6 + political

Explanation

If you don't care who's president, don't belong to a party, and don't care about political issues, you're apolitical: uninterested in politics. Lots of people are very interested in politics. People who vote, follow current events, and register with political parties are being political. On the other hand, some people don't care about such things: they are apolitical. Putting the a in front of political makes it mean "not political." If you're apolitical, you're either politically neutral or don't care about politics at all. Since politics can be very frustrating, it's natural that some people end up being apolitical.

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Vocabulary lists containing apolitical

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Libertarian Musk and the apolitical Altman found common ground in a shared belief about the future of AI.

From Barron's • Apr. 24, 2026

“Without that review and without apolitical, objective, honest brokers involved in the process, there is a much greater risk for intentional manipulation or inadvertent interference,” Keller said.

From Salon • Apr. 14, 2026

The political art lacks passion and the apolitical art lacks intrigue.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 6, 2026

That committee is made up of supposedly technocratic, apolitical Palestinians, led by Dr Ali Shaath, a civil engineer by training who's held ministerial positions in the Palestinian Authority.

From BBC • Jan. 17, 2026

Is it really my apolitical temperament that makes me keep my distance from the intersexual rights movement?

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

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