politics - Definitions from Dictionary.com

6 results for: politics

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

pol·i·tics

Audio Help [pol-i-tiks] Pronunciation Key

–noun (used with a singular or plural verb

)

1.	the science or art of political government.

2.	the practice or profession of conducting political affairs.

3.	political affairs: The advocated reforms have become embroiled in politics.

4.	political methods or maneuvers: We could not approve of his politics in winning passage of the bill.

5.	political principles or opinions: We avoided discussion of religion and politics. His politics are his own affair.

6.	use of intrigue or strategy in obtaining any position of power or control, as in business, university, etc.

7.	(initial capital letter, italics) a treatise (4th century b.c.) by Aristotle, dealing with the structure, organization, and administration of the state, esp. the city-state as known in ancient Greece.

—Idiom

play politics.

a.	to engage in political intrigue, take advantage of a political situation or issue, resort to partisan politics, etc.; exploit a political system or political relationships.

b.	to deal with people in an opportunistic, manipulative, or devious way, as for job advancement.

[Origin: 1520–30; see politic, -ics

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
politics

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

pol·i·tics Audio Help (pŏl'ĭ-tĭks) Pronunciation Key
n.

(used with a sing. verb)
1. The art or science of government or governing, especially the governing of a political entity, such as a nation, and the administration and control of its internal and external affairs.
2. Political science.
3. The activities or affairs engaged in by a government, politician, or political party: "All politics is local" (Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr.) "Politics have appealed to me since I was at Oxford because they are exciting morning, noon, and night" (Jeffrey Archer).
4. The methods or tactics involved in managing a state or government: The politics of the former regime were rejected by the new government leadership. If the politics of the conservative government now borders on the repressive, what can be expected when the economy falters?
(used with a sing. or pl. verb)
1. The activities or affairs engaged in by a government, politician, or political party: "All politics is local" (Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr.) "Politics have appealed to me since I was at Oxford because they are exciting morning, noon, and night" (Jeffrey Archer).
2. The methods or tactics involved in managing a state or government: The politics of the former regime were rejected by the new government leadership. If the politics of the conservative government now borders on the repressive, what can be expected when the economy falters?
(used with a sing. or pl. verb) Political life: studied law with a view to going into politics; felt that politics was a worthwhile career.
(used with a sing. or pl. verb) Intrigue or maneuvering within a political unit or group in order to gain control or power: Partisan politics is often an obstruction to good government. Office politics are often debilitating and counterproductive.
(used with a sing. or pl. verb) Political attitudes and positions: His politics on that issue is his own business. Your politics are clearly more liberal than mine.
(used with a sing. or pl. verb) The often internally conflicting interrelationships among people in a society.

Usage Note: Politics, although plural in form, takes a singular verb when used to refer to the art or science of governing or to political science: Politics has been a concern of philosophers since Plato. But in its other senses politics can take either a singular or plural verb. Many other nouns that end in -ics behave similarly, and the user is advised to consult specific entries for precise information.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
politics (n.)

1529, "science of government," from politic (adj.), modeled on Aristotle's ta politika "affairs of state," the name of his book on governing and governments, which was in Eng. 1450 as "Polettiques."

"Politicks is the science of good sense, applied to public affairs, and, as those are forever changing, what is wisdom to-day would be folly and perhaps, ruin to-morrow. Politicks is not a science so properly as a business. It cannot have fixed principles, from which a wise man would never swerve, unless the inconstancy of men's view of interest and the capriciousness of the tempers could be fixed." [Fisher Ames (1758–1808)]

Meaning "a person's political allegiances or opinions" is from 1769. Political animal transl. Gk. politikon zoon (Aristotle, Politics, I.ii.9) "an animal intended to live in a city; a social animal." Politically correct first attested 1970; abbreviation P.C. is from 1986.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

politics
noun
1.	social relations involving intrigue to gain authority or power; "office politics is often counterproductive"
2.	the study of government of states and other political units
3.	the profession devoted to governing and to political affairs
4.	the opinion you hold with respect to political questions
5.	the activities and affairs involved in managing a state or a government; "unemployment dominated the politics of the inter-war years"; "government agencies multiplied beyond the control of representative politics"

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
politics [ˈpolitiks] noun singular or plural

the science or business of, or ideas about, or affairs concerning, government

Arabic:	سِياسَه
Chinese (Simplified):	政治
Chinese (Traditional):	政治
Czech:	politika
Danish:	politik
Dutch:	politiek
Estonian:	poliitika
Finnish:	politiikka
French:	politique
German:	die Politik
Greek:	πολιτική
Hungarian:	politika
Icelandic:	stjórnmál, pólitík
Indonesian:	politik
Italian:	politica

Japanese:	政治学
Latvian:	politika
Lithuanian:	politika
Norwegian:	politikk
Polish:	polityka
Portuguese (Brazil):	política
Portuguese (Portugal):	política
Romanian:	politică
Russian:	политика
Slovak:	politika
Slovenian:	politika
Spanish:	política
Swedish:	politik
Turkish:	politika, siyaset

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Politics

Pol`i*ti"cian\, n. [Cf. F. politicien.]

1. One versed or experienced in the science of government; one devoted to politics; a statesman.

While empiric politicians use deceit. --Dryden.

2. One primarily devoted to his own advancement in public office, or to the success of a political party; -- used in a depreciatory sense; one addicted or attached to politics as managed by parties (see Politics, 2); a schemer; an intriguer; as, a mere politician.

Like a scurvy politician, seem To see the things thou dost not. --Shak.

The politician . . . ready to do anything that he apprehends for his advantage. --South.

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