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Elementary Dictionary
       

con·sti·tu·tion·al

constitutional

 
 
pronunciation:
kan stih tu sh nl
features:
Word Parts
part of speech: adjective
definition 1: A constitutional thing is something that has to do with a constitution. A constitution is a set of basic laws that a country or other organization uses to govern itself. A constitution contains the rights that the government guarantees for its citizens or that an organization guarantees for its members.
If a country has a constitutional government, it means that the country is governed by a basic set of laws, and citizens have certain rights that are described in that set of laws. The country is not just controlled by the will of a king, for example.
definition 2: If a new law iin a country is constitutional, it is in harmony with all the things that are guaranteed to a people by the country's constitution. It does not interfere with the rights of citizens that the constitution gives.
The new law was so harsh that people wondered if it was constitutional.
derivation: constitutionally (adv.)
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