societal
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of societal
Explanation
Use the adjective societal to describe something that is related to society, like the societal changes that came about as a result of the civil rights movement. People living together in a community make up a society, and anything connected to that group can be described as societal. Societal pressures are expectations that affect the entire community, or specific parts of it, like the pressure to get married and have children. Society, which is at the root of societal, has been used since the 1500s to mean "friendly association with others." The meaning shifted in the next one hundred years to refer specifically to an orderly community of people.
Vocabulary lists containing societal
"Laws are not the only way to boost immunization”: an editorial from Nature
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“For the Herd’s Sake, Vaccinate" by Steven L. Weinreb
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Holi Festival
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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.
The mid-20th century saw increasing societal concern about global population growth and its potential to lead to resource scarcity and geopolitical conflict.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 17, 2026
“We should care about this because societies where people feel lonely and isolated — those are societal failures that are up to all of us to address.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026
Much like then, the movement is driven by a convergence of large societal trends—this time the rise of social-media algorithms, changing therapeutic approaches and a broadening definition of trauma.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026
"We will have to find a societal norm, a framework for the use of these products."
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
It’s all but a requirement, a built-in fee for our societal double standard.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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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.
