Dictionary

supermajority en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• /ˌs(j)upɜɹməˈd͡ʒɔɹɪti/ (US)

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *úp Proto-Indo-European *-er Proto-Indo-European *upér Proto-Italic *super Latin super Latin super-lbor. English super- English majority English supermajority From super- (“above, greater than”) + majority.

Meanings

1. (Canada, US) A majority of the items being counted that reaches some preset threshold significantly greater than 50 percent, such as two thirds.
   • It was in order to exclude not water, but the light of day, that the Roblin Government kept its super-majority on the Public Accounts Committee working under such heavy pressure, with two foremen on the job, Taylor and Coldwell, who kept them so hard at it that the Liberals were prevented from getting at the full facts of the Kelly work on the new Parliament buildings and the Roblin Government work on the Provincial Treasury in connection with Kelly. 1915 April 2, “‘Caisson Disease’ in a Severe Form”, in Manitoba Free Press, Winnipeg, Manitoba, page 9, column 2:
   • The defining political fact of our time is not polarization. It’s the inability of even large bipartisan majorities to get what they want on issues like these. Call it the oppression of the supermajority. 2019 March 5, Tim Wu, “The Oppression of the Supermajority”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 14 Mar 2021:
   • Launching his new political party, Alba, he [Alex Salmond] claimed he could help secure a “supermajority” for independence in the next Scottish parliament, which would significantly weaken Westminster’s opposition to a second independence referendum. 2021 April 15, Libby Brooks, “Could Salmond’s ‘Supermajority’ Talk Harm the Scottish Independence Cause?”, in The Guardian, London, archived from the original on 06 Apr 2023:
   • The failure on Wednesday to overturn Mr. Cooper’s veto was among the most dramatic consequences of Democratic legislative victories in North Carolina last November, which broke Republican supermajorities in both chambers and made it easier for Mr. Cooper’s vetos to survive. 2019 June 5, Richard Fausset, “North Carolina Legislature Fails to Overturn Governor’s Veto of Anti-Abortion Bill”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 10 Mar 2022:
   • He is the majority leader in that body and the trigger man behind the death of a procedure that required a supermajority to approve a presidential nominee. The Texas Senate operates on a supermajority, too. Under ordinary circumstances, it takes approval from two-thirds of the 31 senators to bring a bill to the floor for debate. 2013 November 30, Ross Ramsey, “Supermajority Poses Dilemma for Both Parties”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 18 Aug 2019:

Forms

Coordinates

plurality · qualified minority · absolute majority · relative majority · superminority · simple majority

Relateds

supermajoritarian · supermajoritarianism

Synonyms

qualified majority

Translations (19)

cs kvalifikovaná většina (majority that reaches a preset threshold level) · es mayoría cualificada (majority that reaches a preset threshold level) · it maggioranza qualificata (majority that reaches a preset threshold level) · mt maġġoranza kwalifikata (majority that reaches a preset threshold level) · sv kvalificerad majoritet (majority that reaches a preset threshold level) · ca majoria qualificada (majority that reaches a preset threshold level) · cs supervětšina (majority that reaches a preset threshold level) · nl gekwalificeerde meerderheid (majority that reaches a preset threshold level) · ar غَالِبِيَّة عُظْمَى (majority that reaches a preset threshold level) · fi määräenemmistö (majority that reaches a preset threshold level) · da kvalificeret flertal (majority that reaches a preset threshold level) · pl większość kwalifikowana (majority that reaches a preset threshold level) · de qualifizierte Mehrheit (majority that reaches a preset threshold level) · he הצבעת רוב (majority that reaches a preset threshold level) · hu minősített többség (majority that reaches a preset threshold level) · fr majorité qualifiée (majority that reaches a preset threshold level) · ar أَغْلَبِيَّة عُظْمَى (majority that reaches a preset threshold level) · es mayoría calificada (majority that reaches a preset threshold level) · pt maioria qualificada (majority that reaches a preset threshold level)