Meaning & use
status quo
Last updated
UK/ˌsteɪtəs ˈkwəʊ/
US/ˌsteɪtəs ˈkwoʊ/
Meaning
nounsingular
The way things currently are, especially in society or politics, before any change.
Grammar: Used with the: the status quo.
Patterns
- challenge the status quo
- maintain the status quo
Many voters prefer the status quo to risky reform.
The protesters wanted to challenge the status quo.
Changing the rules would upset the status quo.
Common combinations
- maintain the status quo
- The council voted to maintain the status quo.
- challenge the status quo
- Young designers challenged the status quo.
- preserve the status quo
- Landlords wanted to preserve the status quo.
- upset the status quo
- The new law upset the status quo.
- disrupt the status quo
- Startups often disrupt the status quo.
- accept the status quo
- We cannot simply accept the status quo.
Synonyms and how they differ
- current situation
- Current situation is plain, while status quo implies an established arrangement worth resisting or protecting.
- establishment
- Establishment refers to powerful people, whereas status quo refers to the state of affairs.
- existing order
- Existing order sounds more abstract and formal.
- norm
- Norm is what is typical, not what currently exists politically.
Opposites
Word family
- status noun
- position or state
- quo noun
- Latin for in which, used only in phrases
- quid pro quo noun
- an exchange of favors
Commonly confused: status quo or status quo ante?
status quo vs status quo ante
Status quo ante means the situation as it was before a change, not as it is now.
Practice
Which sentence uses status quo correctly?
Choose one answer.
Status quo means the existing state of affairs. The other sentences misuse it.
Make it your own
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