English Reference
Adjective

plenary

adj.
C1 Advanced US /ˈpɫɛnɝi/ UK /plˈiːnəɹi/ ple·nary Education Law

adj.describing a meeting or session where everyone is expected to attend, rather than just a small group. It is often used for the main parts of a big conference.

adj.relating to a session or assembly attended by all participants or members of a body. Often used to distinguish full-group meetings from smaller breakout sessions or committees.


SIMPLE

The conference starts with a plenary session for all guests.

CONTEXTUAL

After the morning workshops, the delegates gathered in the main hall for the final plenary discussion.

COMPLEX

The committee's recommendations must be ratified during the plenary assembly before they can be formally adopted into the organization's bylaws.

Usage

Typically used attributively before nouns like 'session', 'meeting', or 'assembly'.

He said he told Siluanov during a plenary session that Moscow had to end the war and “that we clearly support Ukraine”.

Al Jazeera· 1 Sept 2026

He will appear on September 3rd in an extraordinary plenary session, although Sánchez had proposed appearing on the 9th.

The Local· 27 Aug 2026

From Middle English plenarie, plenarye, from Late Latin plēnārius, from Latin plēnus (“full”).

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

This entry
Origin Latin plēnus
Level C1 · Advanced
Frequency Occasional
Updated