constitutionalism
Americannoun
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the principles of constitutional government or adherence to them.
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constitutional rule or authority.
noun
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the principles, spirit, or system of government in accord with a constitution, esp a written constitution
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adherence to or advocacy of such a system or such principles
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of constitutionalism
First recorded in 1825–35; constitutional + -ism
Explanation
Political scientists use the word constitutionalism to describe the belief that a government's authority is dictated by a specific law or group of laws — a constitution. People who feel strongly that government is not permitted to do anything that isn't clearly laid out in a written law are advocates of constitutionalism. In the United States, this means sticking to the letter of the Constitution, and checking all proposed laws against it. The important concepts in constitutionalism are a "higher law," or constitution, and using this as a means of limiting the powers of government.
Vocabulary lists containing constitutionalism
The Constitution
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Words with 15 or More Letters, List 4
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U.S. Government - Middle School and High School
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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.
Constitutionalism has really spread around the world now and we expect it and it seems normal, but it is spread with the idea of amendment.
From Slate • Sep. 8, 2025
Reva Siegel is a law professor at Yale University and the author of the Texas Law Review article “Memory Games: Dobbs’s Originalism as Anti-Democratic Living Constitutionalism — and Some Pathways for Resistance.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 23, 2023
Brzezinski spent time in Poland as a Fulbright scholar and is the author of “The Struggle for Constitutionalism in Poland.”
From Seattle Times • Aug. 4, 2021
Brzezinski spent time in Poland as a Fulbright scholar and is the author of “The Struggle for Constitutionalism in Poland.”
From Washington Times • Aug. 4, 2021
Intermediate is Anglomaniac Constitutionalism, or Two-Chamber Royalism; with its Mouniers, its Lallys,—fast verging towards nonentity.
From The French Revolution by Carlyle, Thomas
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
