constitutional

constitutional — adjective

1. describes a law, right, or action that is allowed by a country's constitution —

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

describes a law, right, or action that is allowed by a country's constitution — the set of basic rules by which a nation is governed.

Example

The court decided that the law did not violate any constitutional rights.

collocation: constitutional rights

In some countries, freedom of the press is a constitutional guarantee the government cannot remove.

pattern: constitutional + noun (guarantee)

Common collocations
  • constitutional rights
  • constitutional guarantee
  • constitutional protection
  • constitutional amendment
  • constitutional challenge
Synonyms
  • legal

    broader — something legal simply follows any law, not just the constitution

  • lawful

    similar in meaning but less tied to a written constitution; more general

  • legitimate

    focuses on what is morally or logically accepted, not only on constitutional rules

Antonyms
  • unconstitutional

    the direct opposite — describes something that goes against the constitution

Grammar Patterns

constitutional + noun (right / law / amendment)

be + constitutional

Usage Note

This sense appears most often before a noun (constitutional right / constitutional guarantee) or after be (not constitutional). It is the most common meaning in news and legal discussions.

Common Mistakes

The law was constitutionalised by parliament.
The law was declared constitutional by the supreme court.
The verb constitutionalise is very rare; use declare constitutional or pass a constitutional law instead.
This is a legal right, so it is constitutional.
This is a legal right protected by the constitution, so it is constitutional.
Not every legal right is constitutional; only rights in the constitution itself are constitutional.

2. connected with the natural condition of a person's body, especially how strong o

2.adjectiveC1
Definition

connected with the natural condition of a person's body, especially how strong or healthy they are by nature rather than because of treatment or training.

Example

The doctor said Mayumi's constitutional weakness made it hard for her to fight off infections.

collocation: constitutional weakness

Regular exercise helped improve Sade's constitutional health, and she caught far fewer colds.

collocation: constitutional health

Common collocations
  • constitutional strength
  • constitutional weakness
  • constitutional health
  • constitutional vigour
  • constitutional frailty
Synonyms
  • physical

    broader and more common; refers to the body generally without the 'inborn nature' nuance

  • innate

    focuses on what someone is born with; overlaps with constitutional but also covers mental traits

  • bodily

    plain, neutral term for anything related to the body; less formal

Grammar Patterns

constitutional + noun (strength / weakness / health)

Usage Note

This sense is formal and less common in everyday speech. It typically appears in medical or fitness contexts. The noun it modifies nearly always relates to physical condition: strength, weakness, health, vigour, frailty.

Common Mistakes

She has a constitutional disease.
She has a genetic condition.
Constitutional in the health sense refers to general body condition, not to any specific disease.

3. relating to the basic set of principles and rules by which a nation or instituti

3.adjectiveB2
Definition

relating to the basic set of principles and rules by which a nation or institution is governed, or to the written document that sets out those rules.

Example

The government announced a package of constitutional reforms that would change how elections work.

collocation: constitutional reforms

The country faced a serious constitutional crisis after the president refused to accept the court's decision.

collocation: constitutional crisis

Common collocations
  • constitutional reform
  • constitutional crisis
  • constitutional monarchy
  • constitutional law
  • constitutional change
  • constitutional framework
Synonyms
  • governmental

    broader — covers all aspects of government, not just the constitution

  • parliamentary

    narrower — relates specifically to a parliament system, not all constitutional systems

Grammar Patterns

constitutional + noun (reform / crisis / monarchy / law)

Usage Note

Distinguish from sense 1 (CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS): sense 1 focuses on whether something is permitted by the constitution, while sense 3 focuses on the system and document itself — constitutional reform, constitutional law, constitutional monarchy.

constitutional — noun

Word family

  • constitution
    nounB2
  • constitutionally
    adverbC1
  • unconstitutional
    adjectiveB2
  • unconstitutionally
    adverbC1
  • constitutionalism
    nounC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

These four words all describe something that follows rules, but they apply to different kinds of rules. Constitutional refers specifically to what a country's constitution allows — a constitutional right is one written into the highest law of the land. Legal is broader: something legal follows any kind of law, not just the constitution (e.g., a parking ticket is legal but not constitutional). Lawful is very close to legal but often carries a moral tone — a lawful action follows both the law and a sense of fairness. Statutory refers to laws passed by a legislature (statutes), which is different from constitutional law because statutes can be changed by parliament, while constitutional rules are harder to amend. For example, the right to vote may be statutory in some countries but constitutional in others — the difference matters when a government tries to take it away.

legal ↗lawful ↗legitimate ↗statutory ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

  • constitutionally

Phrases

  • constitutional convention
  • constitutional challenge
  • constitutional scholar

Prepositions

  • under the constitution
  • in the constitution

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Constitutional comes from the Latin word 'constitutio,' meaning 'a settled arrangement or system of rules.' It travelled into English through French in the 1600s, first used to describe laws and later also applied to a person's physical makeup — your body's own 'constitution' of strength and weaknesses.