Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. An officially elected or otherwise selected body of people vested with the responsibility and power to make laws for a political unit, such as a state or nation.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A body of lawmakers; an assemblage of men invested with the power of making, repealing, or changing the laws of a country or state, and of raising and appropriating its revenues. A legislature generally consists of two houses or separate bodies acting concurrently, and usually requires the assent of the supreme executive authority for the validation of its acts, the refusal of which, however, may in the United States be overcome by a prescribed majority of votes. (See
veto .) Legislatures have different specific names, as the Congress of the United States and the Legislatures of most of the separate States (the former consisting of a Senate and House of Representatives, and the two houses of the latter being generally also termed Senate and House of Representatives or Assembly), the Parliament of Great Britain (divided into the House of Lords and the House of Commons), the Reichstag of Germany, the Cortes of Spain, etc. Seehouse , n., 6. - n. Any body of persons authorized to make laws or rules for the community represented by them: as, the General Assembly is the legislature of the Presbyterian Church.
Wiktionary
- n. A governmental body with the power to make, amend and repeal laws.
- n. Canada A legislative building.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. The body of persons in a state or kingdom invested with power to make and repeal laws; a legislative body.
WordNet 3.0
- n. persons who make or amend or repeal laws
Etymologies
- 1676, from stem of legislator + -ure, cognate with (French): législature (Wiktionary)
Examples
“The members of the legislature -- _the suspected legislature_ -- old and young, joined some of the military corps; but lest their legislative aid might also be required, they continued their sessions; when a most extraordinary proceeding occurred.”
“In a recent editorial, "Legislature took responsible path," State Senator Stephen Morris from Hugoton wanted to set the record straight regarding the final budget and tax increase enacted by the legislature for next year.”
“Steve: That said, the idea that the legislature is the place where proposals rise or fall based strictly on the question of benefit to the public is pretty comical.”
“That said, the idea that the legislature is the place where proposals rise or fall based strictly on the question of benefit to the public is pretty comical.”
“Good grief, our legislature is a constant embarassment. elisabeth”
“Since our legislature is also trying to turn Arizona into a police state and a state where any yoyo can carry concealed weapons many long time republicans are seriously thinking of leaving the state.”
Sessions walks fine line about diversity on the Supreme Court
“She also agree that the legislature is the proper body to assert positive rights, but the courts can require government to maintain a basic level of positive obligations.”
“Q Sir, several news organizations have reported about a program that allows the administration to look into the bank records of certain suspected terrorists … if neither the courts, nor the legislature is allowed to know about these programs, how can you feel confident the checks and balances system works?”
“Although the word legislature isn’t part of the formal, proper name for the lawmaking bodies in many states, it may be used instead of a formal name.”
Simon & Schuster: Essential Guide to Business Style and Usage
“So let me get this straight … the legislature is objecting to ‘political’ viewpoints ‘complicat [ing] and prejudic [ing] the scientific investigation’ into climate change and there response is a political resolution to tell science teachers how to teach the science???”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘legislature’.
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
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EN - academic vocabulary
Use these and get promoted
abandon, abandonment, abnormally, abstract, abstraction, abstractly, abstracts, academia, academic, academically, academics, academies and 3119 more...
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11184 more...
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POL - legislation
US Congress/Senate + Westminster + European Parliament usage
across the desk, act, action, adjournment, adjournment sine die, adoption, advise and consent, amendment, analysis of the b..., apportionment, appropriation, appropriations limit and 652 more...
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EU - Parliament vocabulary
Terms associated with the workings of the European Parliament
action for annulment, adjournment of de..., admissibility of ..., adoption of a text, agenda, allowances of MEPs, amendment, assent procedure, associated commit..., attendance register, blue card, breach of the Mem... and 241 more...
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Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue's Capitol
vestibule, foyer, mosaic, tessera, tower, elevator, observation deck, rotunda, guilloche, unicameral, legislature, supreme court and 81 more...
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Basic English Vocabulary
Very basic words for ESL students.
contemplate, container, consumer, consultant, consensus, conscious, conscience, connection, confusion, confront, conflict, confident and 4334 more...
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my dictionary
able, abnormally, abroad, absent, abstract, acceptable, acceptance, access, accessible, accession, according to, account and 4551 more...
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ash
ash
abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abide, abject, abjure and 4874 more...
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Government
For better or worse they belong to us
parliament, congress, senate, federation, republic, democracy, sergeant-at-arms, speaker, house of represen..., black rod, mace, governor-general and 46 more...
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The Great Fiction
Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else.--Frédéric Bastiat, Essays on Political Economy, 1872
democracy, confederacy, republic, monarchy, theocracy, oligarchy, representation, senate, legislature, assembly, deliberative, court and 37 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for legislature.

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