POLITY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does polity mean? 

• POLITY (noun)
  The noun POLITY has 3 senses:

1. the form of government of a social organization

2. a politically organized unit

3. shrewd or crafty management of public affairs

  Familiarity information: POLITY used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• POLITY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The form of government of a social organization

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

civil order; polity

Hypernyms ("polity" is a kind of...):

order (established customary state (especially of society))

Sense 2

Meaning:

A politically organized unit

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Hypernyms ("polity" is a kind of...):

organisation; organization (a group of people who work together)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "polity"):

authorities; government; regime (the organization that is the governing authority of a political unit)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Shrewd or crafty management of public affairs

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Context example:

we was innocent of stratagems and polity

Hypernyms ("polity" is a kind of...):

administration; disposal (a method of tending to or managing the affairs of a some group of people (especially the group's business affairs))

 Context examples 

Others will follow, others will outstrip me on the same lines; and I hazard the guess that man will be ultimately known for a mere polity of multifarious, incongruous and independent denizens.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)