constitutional
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
adj.relating to the system of laws and principles that a country or group is governed by.
adj.relating to the established set of principles or laws that govern a state or organisation.
Simple“The supreme court must decide if the new law is constitutional.”
In context“The proposed amendment triggered a constitutional crisis, as it appeared to bypass the traditional separation of powers between the executive and the legislature.”
Antonyms - 02 C1 Advanced
adj.part of someone's natural physical or mental character.
adj.inherent in the physical or mental makeup of an individual.
Simple“He has a constitutional weakness in his lungs that makes him cough often.”
In context“Her constitutional optimism allowed her to remain composed even when the project faced significant setbacks.”
- 03 C1 Advanced
n.a walk that you take regularly to stay healthy.
n.a walk taken specifically for the benefit of one's health or physical constitution.
Simple“After a heavy lunch, he decided to take a quick constitutional around the park.”
In context“The elderly professor was known for taking a brisk daily constitutional, regardless of the weather conditions.”
UsageUsually used with the verb 'take'.
Teacher's tipThis is often used today in a slightly joking way by people who want to sound old-fashioned or very formal.
Usage constitutional protection · constitutional rights
“Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu, following the vote, said the prolonged delay had caused “social division and a constitutional impasse”.”
“However, the constitutional council found that while the law required users to provide proof of age, it failed to specify the “conditions and limits” under which this should happen.”
PIE word *ḱóm From constitution + -al (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’ forming adjectives). Constitution is derived from Middle English constitucioun, constitucion (“edict, law, ordinance, regulation, rule, statute; body of laws or rules, or customs; body of fundamental principles; principle or rule (of science); creation”) from Old French constitucion (modern French constitution), a learned borrowing from Latin cōnstitūtiō, cōnstitūtiōnem (“character, constitution, disposition, nature; definition; point in dispute; order, regulation; arrangement, system”), from cōnstituō (“to establish, set up; to confirm; to decide, resolve”) (from con- (prefix indicating a being or bringing together of several objects) + statuō (“to set up, station; to establish; to determine, fix”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“to stand (up)”))) + -tiō (suffix forming nouns relating to actions or the results of actions), -tiōnem (accusative singular of -tiō).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.