Dictionary

constitutional en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• (Received-Pronunciation) audio
• /-stə-/ (Canada, General-American)
• /ˌkɒn.stɪˈtjuː.ʃ(ə)n.(ə)l/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• (General-American) audio
• /ˌkɑn.stɪˈt(j)u.ʃ(ə)n.(ə)l/ (Canada, General-American)

Etymology

PIE word *ḱóm From constitution + -al (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’ forming adjectives). Constitution is derived from Middle English constitucioun, constitucion (“edict, law, ordinance, regulation, rule, statute; body of laws or rules, or customs; body of fundamental principles; principle or rule (of science); creation”) from Old French constitucion (modern French constitution), a learned borrowing from Latin cōnstitūtiō, cōnstitūtiōnem (“character, constitution, disposition, nature; definition; point in dispute; order, regulation; arrangement, system”), from cōnstituō (“to establish, set up; to confirm; to decide, resolve”) (from con- (prefix indicating a being or bringing together of several objects) + statuō (“to set up, station; to establish; to determine, fix”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“to stand (up)”))) + -tiō (suffix forming nouns relating to actions or the results of actions), -tiōnem (accusative singular of -tiō).

Meanings

1. Belonging to, or inherent in, the constitution or structure of one's body or mind.
   • a constitutional infirmity   constitutional ardour or dullness
2. For the benefit of one's constitution or health.
   • a constitutional walk
3. Relating to the constitution or composition of something; essential, fundamental.
4. Relating to a legal or political constitution (“the basic law of a nation or institution; the formal or informal system of primary principles and laws that regulates a government or other institution”).
   • a constitutional right   constitutional reforms
   • Brexit has rocked the foundations of the nation and plunged everyone into a state of heightened constitutional anxiety.
   • A possible constitutional crisis loomed in Malawi following the reported death of President Bingu wa Mutharika, once hailed as a positive steward for the southern African country. 2012 April 6, Faith Karimi, “Potential crisis looms in Malawi amid reports of president’s death”, in CNN:
   • On January 18, 1810, Republican Senator Philip Reed introduced a constitutional amendment addressing the acceptance of titles of nobility by American citizens.³¹ 1999 April 14, Jol A. Silversmith, “The "Missing Thirteenth Amendment": Constitutional Nonsense and Titles of Nobility”, in Southern California Interdisciplinary Law Journal, volume 8, number 2, USC Gould School of Law, archived from the original on 15 Feb 2015, page 582:
   • Some are already speculating that a constitutional crisis is brewing.
5. In compliance with or valid under a legal or political constitution.
   • Thai charter court rules that only heterosexual marriages are constitutional: Same-sex marriage in Thailand will have to wait, as the Constitutional Court ruled unanimously today (Wednesday) that Section 1448 of the Civil and Commercial Code, defining marriage as being a union between a man and a woman, is constitutional. 2021 November 17, Thai PBS, “Thai charter court rules that only heterosexual marriages are constitutional”, in Thai PBS World, Bangkok: Thai Public Broadcasting Service, retrieved 17 Nov 2021:
   • The Supreme Court ruled against the applicant and found the statute constitutional.
6. (also) Of a monarch: having a purely ceremonial role, or possessing powers limited by a constitution rather than plenary or unlimited powers.

Forms

Antonyms

nonconstitutional · unconstitutional · anticonstitutional

Deriveds

overconstitutional · unconstitutionalism · unconstitutionality · unconstitutional · nonconstitutionally · constitutionally · constitutionality · ultraconstitutional · constitutional gold · hyperconstitutional · constitutional amendment · semi-constitutional · cuntstitutional · constitutional monarchy · unconstitutionally · anticonstitutional · constitutionalistic · constitutionalization · metaconstitutional · semiconstitutional · anticonstitutionalist · postconstitutional · autoconstitutional · nonconstitutional · extraconstitutional · misconstitutional · macroconstitutional · constitutional crisis · constitutional monarch · underconstitutional · constitutional court · constitutional monarchist · constitutional law · nonconstitutionality · quasiconstitutional · constitutional right · anti-constitutional · constitutionalise · constitutionalize · preconstitutional · constitutionalist · constitutionalisation · constitutionalism · microconstitutional · constitutional carry · constitutional type · constitutional silver · infraconstitutional

Relateds

constitute · constitutively · constituent · constitutive · constitutionist · constitutioned · constitutionless · constitutiveness · constitutor · constitution · constituency

Translations (95)

sv författningsenlig (relating to a legal or political constitution) · fr constitutionnel (in compliance with or valid under a legal or political constitution) · gv bunraghtoil (relating to a legal or political constitution) · nl constitutioneel (relating to a legal or political constitution) · ka კონსტიტუციური (relating to a legal or political constitution) · de verfassungsgemäß (in compliance with or valid under a legal or political constitution) · sv konstitutionell (relating to a legal or political constitution) · es constitucional (in compliance with or valid under a legal or political constitution) · el συνταγματικός (relating to a legal or political constitution) · uk конституці́йний (relating to a legal or political constitution) · sh ȕstāvan (relating to a legal or political constitution) · sk ústavodarný (in compliance with or valid under a legal or political constitution) · ro constituțional (relating to a legal or political constitution) · ru конституцио́нный (relating to a legal or political constitution) · ca constitucional (in compliance with or valid under a legal or political constitution) · pt constitucional (in compliance with or valid under a legal or political constitution) · sk ústavodarný (relating to a legal or political constitution) · fa مشروطه (relating to a legal or political constitution) · hu alkotmányos (in compliance with or valid under a legal or political constitution) · nb grunnlovsbundet (relating to a legal or political constitution) · pt constitucional (relating to a legal or political constitution) · da forfatningsmæssig (in compliance with or valid under a legal or political constitution) · tr anayasal (in compliance with or valid under a legal or political constitution) · nb grunnlovsbundet (in compliance with or valid under a legal or political constitution) · cs ústavní (relating to a legal or political constitution) · hu alkotmányozó (relating to a legal or political constitution) · it costituzionale (in compliance with or valid under a legal or political constitution) · fi perustuslaillinen (in compliance with or valid under a legal or political constitution) · de verfassungsmäßig (relating to a legal or political constitution) · nn konstitusjonell (relating to a legal or political constitution) · sh ȕstāvan (in compliance with or valid under a legal or political constitution) · nn konstitusjonell (in compliance with or valid under a legal or political constitution) · hu alkotmány- (relating to a legal or political constitution) · yi קאָנסטיטוציאָנעל (in compliance with or valid under a legal or political constitution) · ar دُسْتُورِيّ (in compliance with or valid under a legal or political constitution) · gv bunraghtoil (in compliance with or valid under a legal or political constitution) · ka კონსტიტუციური (in compliance with or valid under a legal or political constitution) · nb sunn (for the benefit of one's constitution or health) · sv författningsenlig (in compliance with or valid under a legal or political constitution) · nb grunnlovsmessig (relating to a legal or political constitution) · nl constitutioneel (in compliance with or valid under a legal or political constitution) · nb konstitusjonell (in compliance with or valid under a legal or political constitution) · sah конституционнай (relating to a legal or political constitution) · ar دُسْتُورِيّ (relating to a legal or political constitution) · sk ústavný (relating to a legal or political constitution) · tr anayasal (relating to a legal or political constitution) · ro constituțional (in compliance with or valid under a legal or political constitution) · sh у̏ста̄ван (relating to a legal or political constitution) · nl grondwettelijk (in compliance with or valid under a legal or political constitution) · hu alkati (belonging to, or inherent in, the constitution or structure of one's body or mind) · hy սահմանադրական (in compliance with or valid under a legal or political constitution) · sh у̏ста̄ван (in compliance with or valid under a legal or political constitution) · ga bunreachtúil (in compliance with or valid under a legal or political constitution) · sv grundlagsenlig (in compliance with or valid under a legal or political constitution) · sv grundlagsenlig (relating to a legal or political constitution) · es constitucional (relating to a legal or political constitution) · ca constitucional (relating to a legal or political constitution) · ar بُنْيَوِيّ (for the benefit of one's constitution or health) · nb grunnlovsmessig (in compliance with or valid under a legal or political constitution) · nb helsestyrkende (for the benefit of one's constitution or health) · mk у́ставен (relating to a legal or political constitution) · cs ústavní (in compliance with or valid under a legal or political constitution) · el συνταγματικός (in compliance with or valid under a legal or political constitution) · hy սահմանադրական (relating to a legal or political constitution) · kk конституциялық (relating to a legal or political constitution) · fr constitutionnel (relating to a legal or political constitution) · br bonreizhel (relating to a legal or political constitution) · pl konstytucyjny (relating to a legal or political constitution) · nb konstitusjonell (belonging to, or inherent in, the constitution or structure of one's body or mind) · eo konstitucia (relating to a legal or political constitution) · da konstitutionel (relating to a legal or political constitution) · sv konstitutionell (in compliance with or valid under a legal or political constitution) · nb konstitusjonell (relating to a legal or political constitution) · nb konstitusjonelt monarki (of a monarch: having a purely ceremonial role, or possessing powers limited by a constitution rather than plenary or unlimited powers) · mk у́ставен (in compliance with or valid under a legal or political constitution) · hu alkotmányos (relating to a legal or political constitution) · da konstitutionel (in compliance with or valid under a legal or political constitution) · fi perustuslaillinen (relating to a legal or political constitution) · it costituzionale (relating to a legal or political constitution) · bg конституционен (relating to a legal or political constitution) · pl konstytucyjny (in compliance with or valid under a legal or political constitution) · ru конституцио́нный (in compliance with or valid under a legal or political constitution) · sk ústavný (in compliance with or valid under a legal or political constitution) · yi קאָנסטיטוציאָנעל (relating to a legal or political constitution) · gl constitucional (relating to a legal or political constitution) · tyv конституциялыг (relating to a legal or political constitution) · hu egészségügyi (for the benefit of one's constitution or health) · he חוקתי (relating to a legal or political constitution) · nl grondwettelijk (relating to a legal or political constitution) · de verfassungsmäßig (in compliance with or valid under a legal or political constitution) · hu egészségvédő (for the benefit of one's constitution or health) · da forfatningsmæssig (relating to a legal or political constitution) · ga bunreachtúil (relating to a legal or political constitution) · bg конституционен (in compliance with or valid under a legal or political constitution) · gl constitucional (in compliance with or valid under a legal or political constitution)

constitutional en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Received-Pronunciation) audio
• /-stə-/ (Canada, General-American)
• /ˌkɒn.stɪˈtjuː.ʃ(ə)n.(ə)l/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• (General-American) audio
• /ˌkɑn.stɪˈt(j)u.ʃ(ə)n.(ə)l/ (Canada, General-American)

Etymology

PIE word *ḱóm From constitution + -al (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’ forming adjectives). Constitution is derived from Middle English constitucioun, constitucion (“edict, law, ordinance, regulation, rule, statute; body of laws or rules, or customs; body of fundamental principles; principle or rule (of science); creation”) from Old French constitucion (modern French constitution), a learned borrowing from Latin cōnstitūtiō, cōnstitūtiōnem (“character, constitution, disposition, nature; definition; point in dispute; order, regulation; arrangement, system”), from cōnstituō (“to establish, set up; to confirm; to decide, resolve”) (from con- (prefix indicating a being or bringing together of several objects) + statuō (“to set up, station; to establish; to determine, fix”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“to stand (up)”))) + -tiō (suffix forming nouns relating to actions or the results of actions), -tiōnem (accusative singular of -tiō).

Meanings

1. Something that aids or fosters one's constitution (health): ▸ A walk that is taken regularly for good health and wellbeing.
   • it was then still just possible to have a relatively normal life at the family’s 25-bedroom mansion at 145 Piccadilly, from where the baby was taken for a two-hour constitutional in her pram to Hyde Park and back every day by her governess. 2022 September 8, Stephen Bates, “Queen Elizabeth II obituary”, in The Guardian:
   • Every evening in the last years of the eighteenth century, at precisely the same hour, a solitary figure stepped forth from the most unusual house on Clapham Common to take his nightly constitutional. To avoid the prying eyes of his neighbors, he stuck to the middle of the road, never hailing those who recognized him or touching his hat to acknowledge passersby. 2015, Steve Silberman, edited by Megan Newman, NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity, New York: Avery, →ISBN:
   • Moments of potential transcendence, such as an afternoon constitutional through an expressionistic wonderland recalling the Fuji Velvia vividness of What Dreams May Come, ring false in light of this project's mercenary origins. 2018 December 12, Charles Bramesco, “A Spoonful of Nostalgia Helps the Calculated Mary Poppins Returns Go Down”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 24 May 2019:
2. (euphemistic) Something that aids or fosters one's constitution (health): ▸ An act of defecation.
   • For Mac McCrary and me, the Tet Offensive of 1968 begins as we sit in the outhouse. Since things are in such disorder, sergeants have been invited to use the officers' facility. We both arrive at the latrine at the same time to take a constitutional. 2006, Tom A. Johnson, To the Limit: An Air Cav Huey Pilot in Vietnam, Potomac Books, Inc., →ISBN:
   • The painter looked up at the ceiling. He listened to the woman's television and wondered what to do. He got out of bed. The painter started the coffee pot. He went into the bathroom to take his morning constitutional. The poor painter could still hear the woman's television. Christ, how he hated her. 2012, Nathaniel Tower, Bartleby Snopes Issue 7, Lulu.com, →ISBN, page 56:
   • morning constitutional
   • Or there was the quickie hire of the White dressed up to look like you the hirer yourself in a hoodie (fashion out of the film Rocky, guaranteed in writing) thundering along'n'away for a quickie ten-kays early-morning constitutional to clear out the tubes, fitness being part of your innate lifestyle out of the clean slate of your mind, and not the way your waistline was trying to meet the core of your gravity face-to-face. 2020 January 3, Bill Reed, Wi, Reed Independent, →ISBN:

Forms

Translations (2)

hu egészségügyi séta (walk taken regularly for good health and wellbeing) · nb spasertur (walk taken regularly for good health and wellbeing)