plebiscite
Syllables: ple·bi·scite/ˈplɛbɪsaɪt/US/ˈplɛbəˌsaɪt/
plebiscite noun: a direct popular vote on an issue of public importance, such as an amendment to the constitution, a change in the sovereignty of the nation, or some government policy.
Noun
plebiscite (plural plebiscites)
- A direct popular vote on an issue of public importance, such as an amendment to the constitution, a change in the sovereignty of the nation, or some government policy.
- A political result, we may also say aim, of the frumentarian plebiscite of Gaius was to disattach the city populace from its conservative moorings and to enlist it in the service of reform.1909, George Willis Botsford, The Roman Assemblies from Their Origin to the End of the Republic
- Then something changed, and Mr. Mitterrand said he thought it would be a good idea if the Constitution allowed plebiscites, on the recommendation of the President, on issues involving personal freedoms.1984 July 15, John Vinocur, “A SULLEN, DISILLUSIONED FRANCE MARKS BASTILLE DAY”, in The New York Times
- Synonyms:
- referendum
- An expression of the public's views on an issue, whether legally binding or not.
- Synonym of plebiscitum (“a law enacted by the common people, under the superintendence of a tribune or some subordinate plebeian magistrate, without the intervention of the senate”).
- Synonyms:
- plebiscitum
plebiscite meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali
plebiscite in Hindi
- direct popular vote on an issue of public importance — see also referendum
- जनमतसंग्रह janmatsaṅgrah, जनमत-संग्रह janmat-saṅgrah, रायशुमारी rāyśumārī, राय-शुमारी rāy-śumārī
plebiscite in Tamil
- ஒருபொருள், முடிவு, பொது வாக்கெடுப்பு, நேரடித் தேர்தல், குடியொப்பம்
plebiscite in Urdu
- direct popular vote on an issue of public importance — see also referendum
- رائے شُماری rāe śumārī
plebiscite in Bengali
- জনগণের ভোট, গণভোট
More languagesFewer languages
- plebiscite in Malayalam
- സമ്മതിദാനം, സമ്മതിപത്രം, ജനതാമതപ്രകാശനം, വോട്ട്
- plebiscite in Kannada
- ಮಂದಿಯೊಪ್ಪಿತ, ಜನಮತ, ಸರ್ವಪ್ರಜಾ ನಿರ್ಣಯ, ಪ್ರಜಾಭಿಪ್ರಾಯ
- plebiscite in Tagalog
- plebisito
- plebiscite in Malay
- plebisit
- plebiscite in Indonesian
- plebisit
- plebiscite in Persian
- نظرخواهی nazar-xâhi
- plebiscite in Thai
- ประชามติ bprà-chaa-má-dtì
Synonyms of plebiscite
Forms of plebiscite
| plural | plebiscites |
|---|
Origin of plebiscite
Sense 1 (“referendum”) is borrowed from French plébiscite, from Latin plēbiscītum, plēbis scītum, plēbī scītum (“law of the common people or plebs”), from plēbis (the genitive singular of plēbs (“common people, plebeians”)) + scītum (“decree, ordinance, statute”). Sense 3 (“law enacted by the common people”) is a learned borrowing from Latin plēbiscītum: see above. It is attested earlier than English plebiscitum. Cognates * Italian plebiscito * Middle French plebiscite (modern French plébiscite) * Middle Low German plebiscīt (“ordinance”) * Spanish plebiscito, plebisçito (obsolete)
Words formed from plebiscite
Questions about plebiscite
- What does plebiscite mean?
- Plebiscite means a direct popular vote on an issue of public importance, such as an amendment to the constitution, a change in the sovereignty of the nation, or some government policy.
- What is plebiscite in Hindi?
- Plebiscite in Hindi is जनमतसंग्रह (janmatsaṅgrah), जनमत-संग्रह (janmat-saṅgrah), रायशुमारी (rāyśumārī). See Plebiscite meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is plebiscite?
- Plebiscite is a noun.
- How do you pronounce plebiscite?
- Plebiscite is pronounced /ˈplɛbɪsaɪt/ (UK).
- What is the plural of plebiscite?
- The plural of plebiscite is plebiscites.
Words near plebiscite in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: plebiscite (page history and authors); plebiscite (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); plebiscite (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); plebiscite (Olam, E.K. Kurup corpus) (dataset and license); plebiscite (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-plebiscite.wav.
Cite this entry: “plebiscite.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/plebiscite. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.