political

American  

[puh-lit-i-kuhl] / pəˈlɪt ɪ kəl /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or concerned with politics.

   political writers.

2. of, relating to, or connected with a political party.

   a political campaign.

3. exercising or seeking power in the governmental or public affairs of a state, municipality, etc..

   a political machine;

   a political boss.

4. of, relating to, or involving the state or its government.

   a political offense.

5. having a definite policy or system of government.

   a political community.

6. of or relating to citizens.

   political rights.

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political British  

/ pəˈlɪtɪkəl /

adjective

1. of or relating to the state, government, the body politic, public administration, policy-making, etc

2. 1. of, involved in, or relating to government policy-making as distinguished from administration or law

   2. of or relating to the civil aspects of government as distinguished from the military

3. of, dealing with, or relating to politics

   a political person

4. of, characteristic of, or relating to the parties and the partisan aspects of politics

5. organized or ordered with respect to government

   a political unit

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Other Word Forms

• antipolitical
  adjective
• nonpolitical
  adjective
• overpolitical
  adjective
• prepolitical
  adjective
• pseudopolitical
  adjective
• quasi-political
  adjective
• subpolitical
  adjective
• unpolitical
  adjective
• antipolitically
  adverb
• nonpolitically
  adverb
• overpolitically
  adverb
• politically
  adverb
• prepolitically
  adverb
• quasi-politically
  adverb
• subpolitically
  adverb
• unpolitically
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of political

First recorded in 1545–55; from Latin polītic(us) “civic” ( see politic) + -al ¹

Explanation

Things that are political have to do with government, elections, and how society is run. Congress, state representatives, even county council members are all part of our political system. The Republicans and Democrats are the two main political parties in America — they support political candidates that run for office. The major things that politicians discuss, like balancing the budget, raising taxes, and immigration laws, are political issues. But if someone gets a promotion just because they're friends with the boss, you'd also say it was totally political. In other words, they got ahead because of their connections rather than their qualifications, just like a lot of politicians.

Example Sentences

Southern leaders pushed for territorial expansion – and an expansion of slave states – to ensure they maintained political power at the national level, before they broke off altogether, starting the Civil War.

From BBC • Jul. 4, 2026

By reminding Americans they controlled their political fates, democracy also encouraged economic self-betterment.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 4, 2026

Organisations monitoring political violence in Nigeria say most victims of the jihadist groups are Muslims because they mostly operate in the north of the country, where most people follow Islam.

From BBC • Jul. 3, 2026

The 51-year-old inherits the task of running a country hit by powerful organized crime gangs and chronic political instability.

From Barron's • Jul. 3, 2026

At the domestic level, then, Adams inherited a supercharged political atmosphere every bit as ominous and intractable as the tangle on the international scene.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis