English Reference
adjective

governmental

adj.
US /ˈɡəvɝˌmɛntəɫ/ UK /ɡˌʌvənmˈɛntəl/ gov·ern·men·tal

  1. 01 B2 Upper Intermediate AcademicFormal

    relating to the official group of people who control a country or state.

    relating to the executive or administrative body of a state or nation.

    Simple

    The project received governmental support to help build new schools.

    In context

    The proposed legislation faced significant hurdles due to conflicting governmental priorities regarding environmental protection and economic growth.

    privatenon governmental
  2. 02 C1 Advanced AcademicFormal

    relating to the act or process of ruling and making decisions for a group.

    pertaining to the exercise of authority or the process of governing.

    Simple

    The committee discussed the governmental changes needed to improve the city.

    In context

    Scholars often debate the effectiveness of different governmental structures in maintaining social stability during periods of rapid technological change.

Usage governmental body

In part, it grew out of governmental policy initiatives to ‘green’ the city-state since independence in 1965.

Aeon· 31 Aug 2026

Social media have only partly democratized climate communication: established political, governmental and news actors remain dominant, while skeptical voices gained visibility.

Phys.org· 11 Aug 2026

From government + -al.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Level B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency Frequent
Updated