Meaning & use
parliamentary constitutional monarchy
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Meaning
nouncountableformalspecialist
A system of government in which a king or queen is head of state but real power belongs to an elected parliament.
Grammar: Countable: 'a parliamentary constitutional monarchy', 'parliamentary constitutional monarchies'. Often used with 'under' or 'in'.
Patterns
- under a parliamentary constitutional monarchy
- a parliamentary constitutional monarchy in which ...
- establish a parliamentary constitutional monarchy
Japan is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, with an emperor who has no political power.
Under a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, the prime minister runs the government while the monarch performs ceremonial duties.
The country became a parliamentary constitutional monarchy after the revolution.
Word forms
| plural | parliamentary constitutional monarchies |
|---|
Common combinations
- constitutional monarchy
- The UK is often described as a constitutional monarchy.
- ceremonial head of state
- In a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, the monarch is a ceremonial head of state.
- elected parliament
- Power rests with the elected parliament, not the crown.
- figurehead monarch
- The figurehead monarch opens parliament but does not govern.
Synonyms and how they differ
- constitutional monarchy
- A shorter, more common term for the same system; it does not always stress the role of parliament.
- crowned republic
- A rare, informal phrase for a monarchy where the monarch has almost no power; it is not a technical term.
Opposites
Word family
- monarch noun
- A king, queen, or other royal ruler.
- monarchy noun
- A country ruled by a king or queen, or the system itself.
- parliament noun
- The elected law-making body in many countries.
- parliamentary adjective
- Relating to a parliament or its procedures.
- constitutional adjective
- Relating to a constitution, the basic rules of a state.
Commonly confused: parliamentary constitutional monarchy or absolute monarchy?
parliamentary constitutional monarchy vs absolute monarchy
In an absolute monarchy the monarch holds real governing power; in a parliamentary constitutional monarchy the monarch's role is mostly ceremonial.
Practice
Which sentence correctly describes a parliamentary constitutional monarchy?
Choose one answer.
The key idea is that the monarch is head of state while an elected parliament governs. Option A describes an absolute monarchy, option C a republic, and option D a non-democratic system.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “parliamentary constitutional monarchy”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.