name · noun · 17 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
Received-Pronunciation:/ˈkɒmənˌwɛlθ/
Received-Pronunciation, dated:[ˈkɒmənˌwelθ]
[ˈkɔːmənˌwelθ]Received Pronunciation, more dated
Australia:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
General-American:/ˈkɑmənˌwɛlθ/
Canada, US:/ˈkɑmənˌwɛlθ/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
Australian:/ˈkɔmənˌwɛlθ/
New-Zealand:/ˈkɒmənˌwelθ/
UK:/ˈkɒmənˌwɛlθ/
CMU ARPABET:K AA1 M AH0 N W EH2 L TH
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
name
Meaning 1
The Commonwealth of Nations, a loose confederation of nations based around the former British Empire.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
Mozambique joined the Commonwealth in 1995, although it had not been a part of the British Empire.
Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, being former British colonies, are the only Southeast Asian member countries of the Commonwealth.
As a Commonwealth citizen, you are eligible to vote in United Kingdom elections.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
name
Meaning 2
The Commonwealth of England (1649–1653); the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland (1653–1660).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: UK, historical
Examples
Near-synonyms: Protectorate; Interregnum
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: Protectorate, Interregnum
Antonyms: none provided
3
name
Meaning 3
Australia, the Commonwealth of Australia, often referring to its federal government.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Australia
Examples
Mr. Martin was found guilty of defrauding the Commonwealth by making false welfare claims.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
name
Meaning 4
Kentucky, the Commonwealth of Kentucky, often referring to its government.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
name
Meaning 5
Massachusetts, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, often referring to its government.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
6
name
Meaning 6
Pennsylvania, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, often referring to its government.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
7
name
Meaning 7
Virginia, the Commonwealth of Virginia, often referring to its government.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
8
name
Meaning 8
A barangay of Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
9
name
Meaning 9
A barangay of Rosario, Northern Samar, Philippines.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
10
name
Meaning 10
A barangay of Aurora, Zamboanga del Sur, Philippines.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
11
noun
Meaning 11
The well-being of a community.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: obsolete
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
12
noun
Meaning 12
The entirety of a (secular) society, a polity, a state.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
13
noun
Meaning 13
Republic. Often capitalized, as Commonwealth.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
1649, Act of the Long Parliament Be it declared and enacted by this present Parliament and by the Authoritie of the same That the People of England and of all the Dominions and Territoryes thereunto belonging are and shall be and are hereby constituted, made, established, and confirmed to be a Commonwealth and free State And shall from henceforth be Governed as a Commonwealth and Free State by the supreame Authoritie of this Nation, the Representatives of the People in Parliam[ent] and by such as they shall appoint and constitute as Officers and Ministers under them for the good of the People and that without any King or House of Lords.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
14
noun
Meaning 14
a politically organized body of people under a single government
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
the state has elected a new president
African nations
students who had come to the nation's capitol
the country's largest manufacturer
an industrialized land
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: state, nation, country, land, res publica, body politic
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: political unit, political entity
Narrower terms: commonwealth country, developing country, Dominion, foreign country, Reich, rogue state, renegade state, rogue nation, suzerain, sea power, world power, major power, great power, power, superpower, city state, city-state, ally, Eelam, Tamil Eelam
15
noun
Meaning 15
a political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: democracy, republic
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: political system, form of government
a world organization of autonomous states that are united in allegiance to a central power but are not subordinate to it or to one another
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: world organization, world organisation, international organization, international organisation, global organization
Narrower terms: British Commonwealth, Commonwealth of Nations
17
noun
Meaning 17
the official name of some states in the United States (Massachusetts and Pennsylvania and Virginia and Kentucky) and associated territories (Puerto Rico)
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: state, province
Narrower terms: Puerto Rico, Porto Rico, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, PR
History
Etymology
From common (“public”) + wealth (“well-being”). From c. 1450 as common wele (commonweal). In the form common-wealth (common welthe) from c. 1520, used by Tyndale in the sense "secular society" in particular, for which other authors preferred publike weal. Also from the 1520s treated as a synonym or loan-translation of res publica (republic) (Rollison 2017:67f).
Across languages
Translations
54 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Afrikaans:
gemenebes
— form of government
Antillean Creole:
komònwels
— form of government
Arabic:
كُومُنْوِلْث
(kumunwilṯ)
— form of government
Bulgarian:
общност
(obštnost)
— form of government
Burmese:
ဓနသဟာယ
(dha.na.sa.haya.)
— form of government
Catalan:
mancomunitat
— form of government
Chinese:
лянбон
(lianbon)
— form of government
Chinese Mandarin:
聯邦 /联邦
(liánbāng)
— form of government
Dutch:
gemenebest
— form of government
Esperanto:
komunumo
— form of government
Finnish:
kansainyhteisö
— form of government
Finnish:
kansojenyhteisö
— form of government
French:
communauté
— form of government
French:
richesse commune
— form of government
French:
commonwealth
— form of government
Georgian:
თანამეგობრობა
(tanamegobroba)
— form of government
German:
Staatenbund
— form of government
Greek:
κοινοπολιτεία
(koinopoliteía)
— form of government
Hebrew:
קהילייה
(qehilia)
— form of government
Hindi:
राष्ट्रमंडल
(rāṣṭramaṇḍal)
— form of government
Hungarian:
nemzetközösség
— form of government
Hungarian:
államközösség
— form of government
Hungarian:
államszövetség
— form of government
Indonesian:
persemakmuran
— form of government
Irish:
comhlathas
— form of government
Japanese:
連邦
(renpō)
— form of government
Japanese:
コモンウェルス
(komonwerusu)
— form of government
Kazakh:
достастық
(dostastyq)
— form of government
Khmer:
សហធន
(sak hak thon)
— form of government
Korean:
연방
(yeonbang)
— form of government
Korean:
련방
(ryeonbang)
— form of government
Latin:
respublica
— form of government
Latin:
civitas
— form of government
Malay:
komanwel
— form of government
Marathi:
कॉमनवेल्थ
(kŏmanveltha)
— form of government
Norwegian Bokmål:
samvelde
— form of government
Norwegian Nynorsk:
samvelde
— form of government
Occitan:
mancomunautat
— form of government
Persian:
مشترکالمنافع
(moštarak-ol-manâfe')
— form of government
Pitcairn-Norfolk:
komonwelth
— form of government
Polish:
wspólnota
— form of government
Polish:
rzeczpospolita
— form of government
Portuguese:
comunidade
— form of government
Russian:
содру́жество
(sodrúžestvo)
— form of government
Russian:
сою́з
(sojúz)
— form of government
Spanish:
comunidad
— form of government
Spanish:
mancomunidad
— form of government
Spanish:
estado libre asociado
— form of government
Swedish:
samvälde
— form of government
Tagalog:
komonwelt
— form of government
Tajik:
муштаракулманофеъ
(muštarakulmanofe')
— form of government
Vietnamese:
thịnh vượng chung
— form of government
Welsh:
cymanwlad
— form of government
Welsh:
y Werinlywodraeth f or y Wladwriaeth
— form of government
