societal

[ suh-sahy-i-tl ]

/ səˈsaɪ ɪ tl /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR societal ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

noting or pertaining to large social groups, or to their activities, customs, etc.

Nearby words

Origin of societal

First recorded in 1895–1900; societ(y) + -al¹

Related forms

so·ci·e·tal·ly, adverban·ti·so·ci·e·tal, adjectivean·ti·so·ci·e·tal·ly, adverbin·ter·so·ci·e·tal, adjective

non·so·ci·e·tal, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for societal

He becomes increasingly paranoid by the societal fixtures around him—a ticking clock, a ringing phone.
‘Interstellar’ Is Wildly Ambitious, Very Flawed, and Absolutely Worth Seeing|Marlow Stern|November 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Reactionaries were the industrialists, who wanted little or no societal change.
From The Square Deal to The New Deal: The Overlapping Political Identities of TR and FDR|John Avlon|September 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This is so much more of a societal issue than just a commercial issue.
This 3-D Printer Can Change Fashion's Diversity Problem|Erin Cunningham|June 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In other words, we have a perfect storm of societal systems that disproportionately target our LGBT youth.
Believers Must Fight for Gay Teens|Gene Robinson|May 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Kremlin television began airing documentaries blaming sites like VK for all manner of societal ills.
Moscow’s War on Social Media Claims a New Casualty|Jacob Siegel|April 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The affected person became dangerous to others, and was forced to banish himself from societal contact with them.
Folkways|William Graham Sumner
The nuclear family of the civilization of literacy has been absorbed in the illiterate dynamics of societal functioning.
The Civilization of Illiteracy|Mihai Nadin
The whole problem of mutual service is the great problem of societal organization.
Folkways|William Graham Sumner
They did not verify when the attempt was made to use them for societal needs.
Folkways|William Graham Sumner
Therefore the assumed knowledge of the facts of kinship was used as the basis of a whole series of societal conventions.
Folkways|William Graham Sumner

British Dictionary definitions for societal

societal

/ (səˈsaɪətəl) /

adjective

of or relating to society, esp human society or social relations

Derived Formssocietally, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for societal

societal

adj.

1873, from society (adj.) + -al (1). Related: Societally. Earlier adjective was societarian (1822) "of or pertaining to society."

societal

adjective

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Nearby words

Origin of societal

Examples from the Web for societal

British Dictionary definitions for societal

societal

adjective

Word Origin and History for societal

societal