Standard Lemma guide

politics

noun · verb · 11 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: /ˈpɒl.ɪ.tɪks/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈpɒl.ə.tɪks/
  • UK: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American, dialectal: /ˈpɑ.lɪ.tɪks/ of Canada
  • General-American, dialectal: /ˈpɑ.lə.tɪks/ of Canada
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Canada, dialectal: /ˈpɒl.ɪ.tɪks/ of the US
  • Canada, dialectal: /ˈpɒl.ə.tɪks/ of the US
  • Australian: /ˈpɔl.ə.tɪks/
  • New-Zealand: /ˈpɒl.ə.təks/
  • New-Zealand: [ˈpɔ̟l.ə.təks]
  • South-Asia: /ˈpɔl.ɨ.tɪks/
  • South-Asia: /pɵl.ɨˈtɪks/
  • rhymes with -ɪks
  • CMU ARPABET: P AA1 L AH0 T IH2 K S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A methodology and activities associated with the interpersonal aspects of running a government, an organization, or a movement.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable

Examples

  • local politics
  • national politics
  • office politics
  • Most broadly, politics is everything that humans do, short of warfare, to influence or control each other; more narrowly, it is everything they do in a civilian context to determine the definitions of their polity, state, and government.
  • War is the continuation of politics by other means; war is politics with the addition of hyperviolence and extra-⁠civilian scope.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The profession of conducting political affairs.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable

Examples

  • He made a career out of politics.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

One's political stands and opinions.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Qualifier: treated as a plural noun

Examples

  • Their politics are clear from the bumper stickers on their cars.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

Political maneuvers or diplomacy between people, groups, or organizations, especially involving power, standing, influence or conflict.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

Real-world beliefs and social issues irrelevant to the topic at hand.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, informal, singular, uncountable

Examples

  • We're trying to talk about comic books, don't mention politics.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

verb

Meaning 6

third-person singular simple present indicative of politic

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: form-of, indicative, present, singular, third-person

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

noun

Meaning 7

the profession devoted to governing and to political affairs

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: profession

8

noun

Meaning 8

the activities and affairs involved in managing a state or a government

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • unemployment dominated the politics of the inter-war years
  • government agencies multiplied beyond the control of representative politics

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: activity, affairs

9

noun

Meaning 9

the study of government of states and other political units

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: political science, government

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: social science

Narrower terms: geopolitics, realpolitik, practical politics

10

noun

Meaning 10

the opinion you hold with respect to political questions

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: political sympathies

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: opinion, sentiment, persuasion, view, thought

11

noun

Meaning 11

social relations involving intrigue to gain authority or power

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • office politics is often counterproductive

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: political relation

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: social relation

History

Etymology

From the adjective politic, by analogy with Aristotle’s τά πολῑτῐκᾱ́ (tá polītĭkā́, “affairs of state”).

Across languages

Translations

161 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Abkhaz: аполитика (apʼolitʼikʼa) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Afrikaans: politiek — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Albanian: politikë — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Amharic: ፖለቲካ (polätika) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Arabic: سِيَاسَة (siyāsa) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Arabic: سياسة (siyāsa) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Armenian: քաղաքականություն (kʻaġakʻakanutʻyun) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Assamese: ৰাজনীতি (razoniti) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Asturian: política — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Azerbaijani: سیاست (siāsæt) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Azerbaijani: siyasət — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Azerbaijani: politika — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Bashkir: сәйәсәт (səyəsət) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Bashkir: политика (politika) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Basque: politika — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Belarusian: палі́тыка (palítyka) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Bengali: রাজনীতি (rajniti) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Bulgarian: поли́тика (polítika) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Burmese: နိုင်ငံရေး (nuingngam-re:) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Buryat: улас түрэ (ulas türe) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Carpathian Rusyn: полі́тіка (polítika) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Catalan: política — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Chechen: политика (politika) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Cherokee: ᎠᏙᎩᏯᏛ (adogiyadv) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Chinese Cantonese: 政治 — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Chinese: җынҗы (žɨnžɨ) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Eastern Min Chinese: 政治 (céng-dê) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Hakka Chinese: 政治 (chṳn-chhṳ) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Chinese: 政治 (zh-min-nan) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Chinese Mandarin: 政治 (zhèngzhì) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Wu Chinese: 政治 — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Cornish: politegieth — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Corsican: pulitica — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Crimean Tatar: siyaset — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Czech: politika — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Danish: politik — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Dutch: politiek — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Esperanto: politiko — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Estonian: poliitika — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Finnish: politiikka — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • French: politique — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • West-Frisian: polityk — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Gagauz: politika — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Galician: política — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Georgian: პოლიტიკა (ṗoliṭiḳa) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • German: Politik — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Greek: πολιτική (politikí) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Ancient Greek: πολιτική (politikḗ) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Greenlandic: politikki — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Gujarati: રાજકારણ (rājkāraṇ) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Haitian Creole: politik — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Hausa: siyasa — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Hebrew: פּוֹלִיטִיקָה (polítika) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Hindi: राजनीति (rājnīti) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Hindi: सियासत (siyāsat) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Hungarian: politika — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Icelandic: stjórnmál — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Indonesian: politik — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Indonesian: siasat — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Indonesian: siasah — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Interlingua: politica — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Irish: polaitíocht — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Italian: politica — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Japanese: 政治 (seiji) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Jarai: kơđi čar — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Javanese: naya — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Javanese: pulitik — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Kalmyk: төршл (törşl) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Kannada: ರಾಜಕೀಯ (rājakīya) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Karachay-Balkar: политика (politika) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Karachay-Balkar: сиясат (siyasat) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Kazakh: саясат (saäsat) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Khmer: នយោបាយ (nĕəʼyoobaay) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Korean: 정치 (jeongchi) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Kumyk: сиясат (siyasat) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Northern Kurdish: ramyarî — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Northern Kurdish: siyaset — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Northern Kurdish: rêzanî — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Northern Kurdish: polîtîka — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Kyrgyz: саясат (sayasat) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Kyrgyz: политика (politika) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Lao: ການເມືອງ (kān mư̄ang) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Latin: cīvīlitās — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Latin: polītica — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Latvian: politika — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Lithuanian: politika — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Macedonian: политика (politika) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Malay: politik — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Malay: siasah — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Malayalam: രാഷ്ട്രീയം (rāṣṭrīyaṁ) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Maltese: politika — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Manchu: ᡩᠠᠰᠠᠨ (dasan) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Māori: tōrangapū — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Marathi: राजकारण (rājkāraṇ) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Moksha: политиксь (politikś) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Moksha: политика (politika) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Mongolian: улс төр (uls tör) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Nepali: राजनीति (rājanīti) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Norman: politique — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Norwegian Bokmål: politikk — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: politikk — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Odia: ରାଜନୀତି (rājaniti) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Okinawan: 政治 (shiiji) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Oromo: siyaasa — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Ossetian: политикӕ (politikæ) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Pashto: سياست (seyāsat) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Dari: سِیَاسَت (siyāsat) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Iranian Persian: سِیاسَت (siyâsat) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Iranian Persian: پُلیتیک (politik) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Picard: politike — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Polish: polityka — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Portuguese: política — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Punjabi: ਸਿਆਸਤ (siāsat) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Punjabi: ਰਾਜਨੀਤੀ (rājnītī) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Romanian: politică — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Russian: поли́тика (polítika) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Sardinian: polìtica — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Sardinian: polìtiga — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Scots: poleetics — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Scots: politics — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Scottish Gaelic: sluagh-iùl — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Serbo-Croatian: полѝтика — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Serbo-Croatian: polìtika — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Sicilian: pulìtica — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Sinhalese: රාජනීතිය (rājanītiya) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Slovak: politika — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Slovene: politika — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Somali: siyaasadda — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Spanish: política — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Swahili: siasa — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Swedish: politik — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Tagalog: politika — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Tajik: сиёсат (siyosat) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Tajik: политика (politika) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Tamil: அரசியல் (araciyal) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Tatar: сәясәт (säyäsät) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Tatar: политика (politiqa) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Telugu: రాజకీయాలు (rājakīyālu) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Tetum: polítika — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Thai: การเมือง (gaan-mʉʉang) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Tibetan: སྲིད་དོན (srid don) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Tibetan: ཆབ་སྲིད (chab srid) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Tigrinya: ፖለቲካ (polätika) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Turkish: politika — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Turkish: siyaset — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Ottoman Turkish: سیاست (siyâset) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Turkmen: syýasat — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Turkmen: politika — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Ukrainian: полі́тика (polítyka) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Urdu: سِیاسَت (siyāsat) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Urdu: راج نِیتی (rāj nītī) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Uyghur: سىياسەت (siyaset) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Uzbek: siyosat — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Uzbek: politika — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Vietnamese: chính trị — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Welsh: gwleidyddiaeth — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • West Flemish: politiek — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Yakut: бэлиитикэ (beliitike) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Yakut: политика (politika) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Yiddish: פּאָליטיק (politik) — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
  • Yoruba: ìṣèlú — a methodology and activities associated with running a government
Real reading context

politics in complete knowledge articles