Wordbay · Politics & society
Words about politics and society
How people govern, protest, vote and gather: the vocabulary of the news and of history, each with a plain meaning.
Everyday (24)
- bureaucracy noun. A system run by officials and departments that follows fixed rules, often criticised as slow and over-complicated.
- catalyst noun. A substance that speeds up a chemical reaction without being used up itself.
- censorship noun. The cutting or banning of books, films, news or speech that an authority considers harmful or unacceptable.
- coalition noun. A temporary alliance of parties or groups that join forces to govern or to pursue a shared aim.
- coerce verb. To make someone do something by using force, threats or pressure.
- constituency noun. An area whose voters elect one representative, or the voters in it.
- contentious adjective. Likely to cause disagreement or heated argument.
- electorate noun. All the people who are entitled to vote in an election.
- filibuster noun. A tactic of talking at great length in a debate so that a vote cannot take place.
- fiscal adjective. Relating to government money, especially taxes and public spending.
- gentrification noun. The change of a poorer area as wealthier people move in, raising prices and often pushing out long-time residents.
- grassroots adjective. Coming from ordinary people and local members rather than from leaders or official bodies.
- hereditary adjective. Passed down from parents to children, through the genes or by inheritance.
- ideology noun. A connected set of beliefs and ideals that shapes how a person or group thinks politics and society should work.
- Luddite noun. A person who distrusts or resists new technology, especially at work.
- mandate noun. The authority to carry out a programme that voters are seen to have given by electing someone.
- partisan adjective. Strongly and often blindly supporting one party, side or cause.
- propaganda noun. Information, often slanted or misleading, spread deliberately to win people over to a cause or point of view.
- referendum noun. A vote in which the whole electorate decides a single question directly.
- regime noun. A government, especially one that rules harshly or without the consent of the people.
- secular adjective. Not connected with religion or spiritual matters.
- sovereignty noun. Supreme power or authority, especially a country's right to govern itself without outside control.
- utopia noun. An imagined place or state in which everything is perfect.
- zeitgeist noun. The spirit, mood and ideas typical of a particular period.
Well-read (31)
- amity noun. Peaceful friendship, especially between groups or nations.
- autocracy noun. Government by one person who holds unlimited power.
- blackleg noun. A worker who carries on working, or takes a striker’s place, during a strike.
- cause célèbre noun. A controversial issue or case that attracts wide public attention.
- censure noun. Strong, formal criticism or disapproval.
- cohort noun. A group of people with something in common, such as their age or the year they joined.
- cosmopolitan adjective. Full of people and influences from many countries.
- cronyism noun. Giving jobs, contracts or favours to friends and allies rather than to whoever is best qualified.
- demagogue noun. A political leader who wins support by stirring up people's fears and prejudices rather than by reasoned argument.
- disenfranchise verb. To take away someone's right to vote, or to leave them without a voice or influence.
- egalitarian adjective. Based on the belief that all people are equal and deserve the same rights and opportunities.
- éminence grise noun. A person who wields power behind the scenes without an official title.
- functionary noun. An official, especially a minor one who carries out orders without much power.
- gerrymander verb. To redraw the boundaries of voting districts so that one party or group gains an unfair advantage.
- hegemony noun. Dominance of one group, country or idea over others, often held so firmly it seems natural.
- heterogeneous adjective. Made up of parts or members that are very different from one another.
- hoi polloi noun. Ordinary people, the masses, usually said with mock disdain.
- hustings noun. A meeting at which election candidates speak and answer voters' questions, or campaigning in general.
- jingoism noun. Loud, aggressive patriotism, especially the kind that is eager for war.
- malfeasance noun. Wrongdoing, especially by someone in public office.
- meritocracy noun. A system in which people are chosen and rewarded for their ability and achievements rather than wealth or birth.
- moneyed adjective. Having a lot of money; wealthy.
- moribund adjective. Close to death, or losing its vitality and no longer growing.
- oligarchy noun. Rule by a small group of powerful people, or a country governed that way.
- pillory verb. To mock or criticise someone harshly and publicly.
- plutocracy noun. Government by the rich, or a society in which wealth buys power.
- populism noun. Politics that claims to speak for ordinary people against an elite seen as corrupt or out of touch.
- sectarian adjective. Relating to bitter division between religious or political groups, often marked by hostility.
- suffrage noun. The right to vote in public elections.
- technocrat noun. An expert in a technical field who holds power or office because of that expertise rather than by election.
- theocracy noun. A system of government in which religious leaders rule in the name of a god.
Advanced (17)
- gerontocracy noun. Rule by old people, or a group or society in which the eldest hold the power.
- irredentism noun. A policy of claiming land that belongs to another state because people of one's own nation live there or once did.
- kakistocracy noun. Government by the least qualified or most unprincipled people available.
- kleptocracy noun. Government by leaders who use their power to steal the country's wealth for themselves.
- nabob noun. A very rich and powerful person, especially one who made a fortune abroad.
- ochlocracy noun. Mob rule: government by an angry crowd rather than by law or elected representatives.
- prorogue verb. To end a session of a parliament without dissolving it, so that it can meet again later.
- psephology noun. The study of elections and voting patterns, using statistics to explain and predict results.
- quockerwodger noun. A wooden puppet on strings, or a politician who acts as someone else's puppet.
- revanchism noun. A political drive to win back lost territory or avenge a past defeat.
- satrap noun. A provincial governor in ancient Persia; now a subordinate ruler or official who serves a distant boss.
- shibboleth noun. A word, custom or belief that marks someone as an insider, or an old principle no longer questioned.
- snollygoster noun. A clever but unprincipled person, especially a politician out only for personal gain.
- sortition noun. Choosing officials or decision-makers by drawing lots rather than by election.
- Stakhanovite noun. A worker who is exceptionally hard-working and productive, sometimes to excess.
- syncretism noun. The blending of different religions, cultures or schools of thought into a new whole.
- venal adjective. Willing to take bribes or act dishonestly for money.