legislation
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
a law or a group of laws that have been officially passed by a government.
a law or collective body of laws enacted by a legislature or other governing body.
Simple“The government introduced new legislation to protect the environment from pollution.”
In context“The proposed legislation underwent several amendments in the senate before it was finally ratified by the executive branch.”
UsageUncountable when referring to laws collectively; individual items are usually called 'acts' or 'bills'.
- 02 C1 Advanced
the official process of preparing and passing new laws.
the act or process of legislating; the preparation and enactment of laws.
Simple“The legislation of these new rules took several months of debate.”
In context“Effective legislation requires a delicate balance between public interest groups and the practical constraints of the legal system.”
UsageAlways uncountable in this sense.
Synonymslawmakingenactment
“Opponents of the bill believe the legislation has substantial flaws and would pose risks to disabled people, putting pressure on them to end their lives.”
“Five UN-appointed independent human rights experts called on Tuesday for Türkiye to stop using counter-terrorism legislation to intimidate human rights defenders and to immediately release Sebnem Korur Fincancı, a senior medic and anti-torture expert.”
From Late Latin lēgislātiō (“the giving of the law”). Morphologically legislate + -ion.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.