Constitutionally

How to spell constitutionally

16 letters · 6 syllables

How to pronounce constitutionally

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does constitutionally mean?

1. adverbIn a manner that accords with or is governed by a constitution or its fundamental laws.
2. adverbWith regard to one's physical or mental constitution; by basic nature or temperament.

Constitutionally in a sentence

• The court ruled that the new policy was constitutionally sound.

• He is constitutionally incapable of sitting still through a long meeting.

• The monarch is constitutionally required to remain politically neutral.

• Some people are constitutionally resistant to the cold and rarely fall ill.

Where does constitutionally come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This long word traces back to the Latin verb constituere, which meant 'to set up' or 'to establish firmly', built from con- 'together' and statuere 'to set or place'. From that verb came the noun constitutio, describing an arrangement, ordinance, or the fundamental makeup of something. English borrowed 'constitution' through Old French in the 1300s, at first meaning the way a thing is composed (including a person's physical and mental nature), and only later acquiring the political sense of a state's foundational laws. The adjective 'constitutional' grew from that noun, and the adverb 'constitutionally' was layered on top with the familiar -ly ending. Because the word stacks four suffixes onto the root, the spelling trap is keeping the doubled-t-i-tu sequence intact: -stitu- followed by -tion-al-ly, where the unstressed vowels all blur into a schwa.

How the word is built

• con- (together)
• -stitu- (to set up, from Latin statuere 'to establish')
• -tion (noun-forming)
• -al (adjective-forming)
• -ly (adverb-forming)