government
- 01 A2 Elementary
the group of people who officially control a country or state.
the executive and legislative body with the authority to make and enforce laws for a nation or region.
Simple“The government announced new rules for schools this morning.”
In context“The national government is currently debating a series of fiscal reforms intended to stabilise the economy before the next election cycle.”
UsageOften takes a singular verb in American English and a plural verb in British English.
Synonyms - 02 B1 Intermediate
the system or method used to control a country.
the system of social control under which the right to make laws is vested in a particular group.
Simple“Many people believe that a democratic government is the best system.”
In context“The transition from a colonial administration to a representative government required significant structural changes to the legal system.”
SynonymsAntonyms - 03 B2 Upper Intermediate
the time when a specific leader or party is in power.
the period of time during which a particular administration or ministry holds office.
Simple“Life in the city changed a lot during the previous government.”
In context“Historians often argue that the government of the 1990s failed to address the underlying causes of the housing crisis.”
Synonyms - 04 C2 Proficiency
the way one word in a sentence affects the form of another word.
the relationship between a word and its dependents, where one word determines the case or form of another.
Simple“In some languages, the government of a verb determines the case of the noun.”
In context“The professor explained the rules of syntactic government, specifically how certain prepositions require the dative case in German.”
Teacher's tipThis is a highly specialised linguistic term; students will rarely encounter it outside of advanced grammar or linguistics courses.
Synonyms
Usage government spokesperson · government announced · government officials
From Middle English governement, from Old French governement (modern French gouvernement), from governer (see govern) + -ment. Morphologically govern + -ment. Displaced native Old English gerec, leodweard, ræden, rǣding and ealdordōm.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.