plenary
Americanadjective
-
full; complete; entire; absolute; unqualified.
plenary powers.
-
attended by all qualified members; fully constituted.
a plenary session of Congress.
noun
plural
plenariesadjective
-
full, unqualified, or complete
plenary powers
plenary indulgence
-
(of assemblies, councils, etc) attended by all the members
noun
Other Word Forms
- plenarily adverb
Etymology
Origin of plenary
First recorded in 1375–1425; from Late Latin plēnārius ( plenum, -ary ); replacing late Middle English plener, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin plēnāris ( -ar 1 )
Explanation
If something is full or complete, you can describe it as plenary. When you get to be a teenager, your parents can give you plenary responsibility for your siblings when they go out. They pay pretty well to boss the kids around! Although the adjective plenary can be used to describe anything that is full or complete, it most often describes a full meeting session, as in a political meeting or a board meeting. The school board met in a plenary session today to discuss the purchase of land for a new high school. When you got asked to be the plenary speaker at the board meeting, you made sure to put it on your resume right away.
Vocabulary lists containing plenary
Half of a Yellow Sun
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Long Walk to Freedom
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Revolution in Our Time
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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.
Ma’s last disclosed appearance was at a plenary meeting of the Communist Party’s Central Committee in October.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 15, 2026
These were heartily applauded in the plenary halls – but their legal standing is uncertain.
From BBC • Nov. 22, 2025
On Monday, in a speech during a plenary session of COP30, German Environment Minister Carsten Schneider struck a different tone, praising the "wonderful people of Brazil" who "captivated him with their warm hospitality."
From Barron's • Nov. 18, 2025
However, there is one area in which the president does have absolute plenary authority: The power of the pardon.
From Salon • Nov. 16, 2025
Just after midnight on November 18, an interim constitution was approved by a plenary session of the multiparty conference.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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.
