adjective
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of, relating to, befitting, or characteristic of a senator
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composed of senators
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electing or entitled to representation by a senator
senatorial districts
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of senatorial
1730–40; < Latin senātōri ( us ) ( see senator, -tory 1) + -al 1
Explanation
Anything senatorial relates to senators, who are members of a legislative body. If you are a senatorial candidate, guess what? You are running for the Senate. If a politician is presidential, it seems like they could serve as the President. A similar word is senatorial, which refers to all aspects of senators and senates. A senatorial election is between two politicians competing for a seat in the U.S. Senate. A senatorial committee is full of senators. Since a senator is in a position of authority, this word sometimes refers to how impressive, serious, or authoritative someone seems.
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.
A former independent senatorial candidate, Jenkins is fiercely proud of Nebraska agriculture and his own ranch, which is on land his family homesteaded more than 150 years ago.
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026
Next came Didius Julianus, a senatorial aristocrat who achieved the throne by bribing the guardsmen.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 19, 2026
Both say that Chairman Cash should have allowed them to exercise their senatorial courtesy to speak outside of public comment and reasonably exceed the two-minute limit.
From Salon ● Nov. 17, 2025
If you care about such things, there are loads of senatorial quotes to be mined for meaning.
From Slate ● Nov. 15, 2024
“But the Spencers are Egalitarians. They were rallying against your senatorial campaign.”
From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
