Meaning & use
constituencies
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“constituencies” is a form of “constituency”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
nounplural
Areas of a country whose voters elect their own representative to a parliament or council.
Grammar: Plural of constituency: several voting areas.
Patterns
- constituencies in something
- win constituencies
The party won most of the rural constituencies in the north.
Each of the 650 constituencies elects one member of parliament.
Boundary changes redrew several constituencies before the vote.
nounplural
Groups of supporters or people with a shared interest whom a politician, party or organization depends on.
Grammar: Often with a possessive: the party's core constituencies.
Patterns
- appeal to constituencies
- core constituencies
The governor tried to appeal to several constituencies at once.
Older voters and small business owners are key constituencies for the party.
The charity serves very different constituencies across the city.
Common combinations
- marginal constituencies
- Both parties focused on the marginal constituencies.
- safe constituencies
- Several safe constituencies have elected the same party for decades.
- rural constituencies
- Rural constituencies are often larger in area but smaller in population.
- redraw constituencies
- The commission will redraw constituencies after the census.
- core constituencies
- Young voters are among the party's core constituencies.
Synonyms and how they differ
- districts
- Districts is the more usual American word for electoral areas, and can also name non-electoral zones.
- wards
- Wards are smaller local-election areas within a town or city, while constituencies elect national or regional representatives.
- seats
- Seats refers to the offices themselves, while constituencies are the places and voters behind them.
- electorates
- Electorates is the term for the groups of eligible voters, and in Australia and New Zealand it can also mean voting districts.
Word family
- constituency noun
- one electoral area or group of supporters
- constituent noun
- a voter in a constituency, or a part of a whole
- constitute verb
- to form or make up
- constituent adjective
- forming part of a whole
Commonly confused: constituencies or constitutions?
constituencies vs constitutions
Constitutions are the basic legal documents of a state or organization. Constituencies are voting areas or groups of supporters.
Practice
After the election, the party held seats in more than forty of the country's ___.
Choose one answer.
Constituencies are the voting areas that elect representatives. Constituents are individual voters, and constitutions are legal documents.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “constituencies”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.