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Definition of "polity" [pol•i•ty]

  • The form of government of a nation, state, church, or organization. (noun)
  • An organized society, such as a nation, having a specific form of government: "His alien philosophy found no roots in the American polity” ( New York Times). (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "polity" in a sentence
  • "The polity is likewise that of the Methodist Episcopal Church, the chief difference being the provision for a general convention as a constitutional lawmaking body, to be called only when there is under consideration a change in polity or name."
  • "Now he is desirous to have his whole plan of government neither a democracy nor an oligarchy, but something between both, which he calls a polity, for it is to be composed of men-at-arms."
  • "Since Baptists are congregational in polity you never quite know what to expect from one church to another"