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governmental

 - 3 dictionary results

gov⋅ern⋅ment

  [guhv-ern-muhnt, ‑er-muhnt]
Use governmental in a Sentence
–noun
1. the political direction and control exercised over the actions of the members, citizens, or inhabitants of communities, societies, and states; direction of the affairs of a state, community, etc.; political administration: Government is necessary to the existence of civilized society.
2. the form or system of rule by which a state, community, etc., is governed: monarchical government; episcopal government.
3. the governing body of persons in a state, community, etc.; administration.
4. a branch or service of the supreme authority of a state or nation, taken as representing the whole: a dam built by the government.
5. (in some parliamentary systems, as that of the United Kingdom)
a. the particular group of persons forming the cabinet at any given time: The Prime Minister has formed a new government.
b. the parliament along with the cabinet: The government has fallen.
6. direction; control; management; rule: the government of one's conduct.
7. a district governed; province.
8. political science.
9. Grammar. the extablished usage that requires that one word in a sentence should cause another to be of a particular form: the government of the verb by its subject.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME < OF governement. See govern, -ment

Related forms:
gov⋅ern⋅men⋅tal  [guhv-ern-men-tl, ‑er-men‑] , adjective
gov⋅ern⋅men⋅tal⋅ly, adverb

Usage note:
See collective noun.

Pronunciation note:
Normal phonological processes are reflected in a variety of pronunciations for government. Most commonly, the first [n] of [guhv-ern-muhnt] assimilates to the immediately following [m], with the resulting identical nasal sounds coalescing to give the pronunciation [guhv-er-muhnt]. This pronunciation is considered standard and occurs throughout the U.S. For speakers in regions where postvocalic [r] is regularly lost, as along the Eastern Seaboard and in the South, the resulting pronunciation is [guhv-uh-muhnt] or, with loss of the medial unstressed vowel, [guhv-muhnt]. Further assimilation, in which the labiodental [v], in anticipation of the bilabial quality of the following [m], becomes the bilabial stop [b], leads in the South Midland and Southern U.S. to the pronunciation [guhb-muhnt]. See isn't.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To governmental
gov·ern·ment   (gŭv'ərn-mənt)   
n.  

  1. The act or process of governing, especially the control and administration of public policy in a political unit.

  2. The office, function, or authority of a governing individual or body.

  3. Exercise of authority in a political unit; rule.

  4. The agency or apparatus through which a governing individual or body functions and exercises authority.

  5. A governing body or organization, as:

    1. The ruling political party or coalition of political parties in a parliamentary system.

    2. The cabinet in a parliamentary system.

    3. The persons who make up a governing body.

  6. A system or policy by which a political unit is governed.

  7. Administration or management of an organization, business, or institution.

  8. Political science.

  9. Grammar The influence of a word over the morphological inflection of another word in a phrase or sentence.

gov'ern·men'tal (-měn'tl) adj., gov'ern·men'tal·ly adv.
Usage Note: In American usage government always takes a singular verb. In British usage government, in the sense of a governing group of officials, takes a plural verb: The government are determined to follow this course. See Usage Note at collective noun.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: gov·ern·ment
Pronunciation: 'g&-v&r-m&nt, -v&rn-
Function: noun
1 : the act or process of governing; specifically : authoritative direction or control
2 : the office, authority, or function of governing
3 : the continuous exercise of authority over and the performance of functions for a political unit : RULE
4 a : the organization, machinery, or agency through which a political unit exercises authority and performs functions and which is usually classified according to the distribution of power within it b : the complex of political institutions, laws, and customs through which the function of governing is carried out
5 : the body of persons that constitutes the governing authority of a political unit or organization: as a : the officials comprising the governing body of a political unit and constituting the organization as an active agency b cap : the executive branch of the U.S. federal government c : the prosecution in a criminal case in its capacity as agents of the political unit government failed to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt> —gov·ern·men·tal adjective —gov·ern·men·tal·ly adverb
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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