agency
n. uncountablen. the ability to make your own choices and take action to change your life or the world around you. It is the feeling that you are in control of your decisions.
n. the capacity of an actor to act in any given environment; the exercise or manifestation of influence, power, or control. Often contrasted with structural constraints in sociological and philosophical discourse.
Students need to feel a sense of agency in their own learning.
The program aims to give young people the agency they need to improve their local communities through social projects.
While social structures often limit individual choice, the theory suggests that human agency remains a powerful force capable of gradually reshaping those very institutions through persistent collective action.
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ- Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti Proto-Italic *agō Latin agō Medieval Latin agēns Proto-Indo-European *-yós Proto-Italic *-ios Old Latin -ios Medieval Latin -ius Medieval Latin -ia Medieval Latin agēntiabor. English agency From Medieval Latin agentia, from Latin agēns (present participle of agere (“to act”)), agentis (cognate with French agence, see also agent).
Frequently used in the phrase 'a sense of agency'. In this abstract sense, it does not take a plural form.