Word.ws English Dictionary

politic

/ˈpɒl.ɪ.tɪk/US/ˈpɑ.lɪ.tɪk/

politic adjective: of or relating to polity, or civil government; political. Also the alternative spelling of politick.

Adjective

politic (comparative more politic, superlative most politic)

  1. (archaic) Of or relating to polity, or civil government; political.
    • the body politic
    • [H]e with his people made all but one politic body whereof himself was the heada. 1587, Philippe Sidnei [i.e., Philip Sidney], “(please specify the folio)”, in [Fulke Greville; Matthew Gwinne; John Florio], editors, The Countesse of Pembrokes Arcadia [The New Arcadia], London...
  2. (archaic) Relating to, or promoting, a policy, especially a national policy; well-devised; adapted to its end, whether right or wrong.
    • a politic treaty
    • For then this land was famously enrich'd / With politic grave counselc. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...
  3. (archaic) Sagacious in promoting a policy; ingenious in devising and advancing a system of management; devoted to a scheme or system rather than to a principle; hence, in a good sense, wise; prudent; sagacious
    • I have been politic with my friend, smooth with mine enemyc. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
  4. Shrewd, prudent and expedient; showing policy.
    • But as he headed for the front of the line one of his minders whispered that it might be politic to go to the back.1999 February 28, Chris McGreal, “Nigerians give two cheers for flawed election”, in The Guardian, →ISSN, archived from the original on 02 May 2024
    • But campaigners in Florida accused him of turning a blind eye to the real issues with his "politic" appearance before the commission.2001 January 12, Jane Martinson, “Jeb Bush grilled on voting irregularities”, in The Guardian, →ISSN, archived from the original on 17 Jul 2017
  5. Discreet and diplomatic.
    • A unanimous exclamation called upon Evelyn himself to speak; and, after a minute's politic pause, he went on to state his plan.1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter IV, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume III, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 25
    • Deferential, glad to be of use, / Politic, cautious, and meticulous; […]1915 June, T[homas] S[tearns] Eliot, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”, in Prufrock and Other Observations, London: The Egoist […], published 1917, →OCLC, page 15
  6. Artful, crafty or cunning.

Noun

politic (plural politics)

  1. (archaic) A politician.
    • to speake truly of politikes & Statesmen1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of the True Greatness of Kingdoms and Estates”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, →OCLC
    • Swiftly the politic goes; is it dark? he borrows a lantern; / Slowly the statesman and sure, guiding his feet by the stars.1848, James Russell Lowell, The Complete Poetical Works of James Russell Lowell, Epigrams, 3
  2. A politics; a set of political beliefs.
    • While the stories and lives on the screen are alternately moving and funny, an unspoken question arises: does similar experience always lead to a coherent politic?1978 April 29, Michael Bronski, “Notes on a Necessary Gay Film”, in Gay Community News, page 11

Also used as

politic is also the alternative spelling of politick.

Examples of politic in a sentence

  • What a politician likes to do for fun (or judges it politic to pretend he does) is seen as a clue to their personality, or even their politics.2010 April 20, Mark Lawson, “Politicians' pop-culture love-in”, in The Guardian, →ISSN, archived from the original on 02 May 2024:
  • And therefore our politic Asclepius may be supposed to have exhibited the power of his art only to persons who... had a definite ailment.1871, Benjamin Jowett, chapter III, in Plato: The Republic:

All 15 example sentences with politic

Antonyms of politic

Forms of politic

Adjective
comparativemore politic
superlativemost politic
alternative form (obsolete)politick
Noun
pluralpolitics
Verb
third-person singular presentpolitics
present participlepoliticking
past participlepoliticked
pastpoliticked

Origin of politic

From Middle French politique, from Latin polīticus, from Ancient Greek πολιτικός (politikós), from πολίτης (polítēs, “citizen”). Cognate with German politisch (“political”). Doublet of politico.

Back-formation from politicking.

Words formed from politic

Phrases with politic

Questions about politic

What does politic mean?
Politic means of or relating to polity, or civil government; political.
How do you use politic in a sentence?
What a politician likes to do for fun (or judges it politic to pretend he does) is seen as a clue to their personality, or even their politics.
What part of speech is politic?
Politic can be an adjective or a noun.
How do you pronounce politic?
Politic is pronounced /ˈpɒl.ɪ.tɪk/ (UK).

Words near politic in the dictionary

  1. politesse
  2. politesses
  3. politest
  4. Politi
  5. Politian
  6. politic
  7. political
  8. political animal
  9. political animals
  10. political arithmetic
  11. political asylum

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: politic (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-politic.wav.

Cite this entry: “politic.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/politic. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.