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.
It’s dark and, as the album title forewarns, there is plenty in that mood here—at times evoking societal situations, just as often depicting the ravages of his own age.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026
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
There are so many ways to make societal shifts, whether that’s writing to your officials or protesting or creating art that is challenging.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 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
Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural, and historical context to deepen understanding.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
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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.
