the body politic
noun phrase
formal
: all the people in a particular country considered as a single group
The article examines the language politicians use to appeal to the body politic.
Examples of the body politic in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Corruption has infected the body politic, leaving a chasm in local leadership desperate for someone to fill.
—
Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2025
Fundamental shifts are occurring in the body politic that have left Democrats on the wrong side of the popular vote, congressional races, and the country's shifting demographics.
—Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 19 Mar. 2025
But the disease has lodged itself more deeply in the body politic than this picture suggests.
—Sarah Chayes, Foreign Affairs, 13 Oct. 2020
Shahn was known as a social realist: a painter of hardscrabble life who registered every spasm and twitch of the body politic, from the Great Depression to Vietnam.
—Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 24 June 2025
The legal process has been hijacked and used as a cudgel against those that have applied it for its intended purpose: to serve the body politic by advancing the rule of law.
—Mark A. Cohen, Forbes.com, 12 May 2025
But the body politic is cheating the test with alarming ease.
—Megan Garber, The Atlantic, 29 Apr. 2025
What happened next reveals how democracies can unleash antibodies to resist dangerous threats to the body politic and defend their system of government.
—Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar, Foreign Affairs, 18 Apr. 2025
In the decades since, and in talking with pastors and reading the literature on Christianity and the public sphere, he’s come to appreciate what religious values can contribute to the body politic.
—Andrew Silow-Carroll, Sun Sentinel, 26 Feb. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2025
Fundamental shifts are occurring in the body politic that have left Democrats on the wrong side of the popular vote, congressional races, and the country's shifting demographics.
—Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 19 Mar. 2025
But the disease has lodged itself more deeply in the body politic than this picture suggests.
—Sarah Chayes, Foreign Affairs, 13 Oct. 2020
Shahn was known as a social realist: a painter of hardscrabble life who registered every spasm and twitch of the body politic, from the Great Depression to Vietnam.
—Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 24 June 2025
The legal process has been hijacked and used as a cudgel against those that have applied it for its intended purpose: to serve the body politic by advancing the rule of law.
—Mark A. Cohen, Forbes.com, 12 May 2025
But the body politic is cheating the test with alarming ease.
—Megan Garber, The Atlantic, 29 Apr. 2025
What happened next reveals how democracies can unleash antibodies to resist dangerous threats to the body politic and defend their system of government.
—Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar, Foreign Affairs, 18 Apr. 2025
In the decades since, and in talking with pastors and reading the literature on Christianity and the public sphere, he’s come to appreciate what religious values can contribute to the body politic.
—Andrew Silow-Carroll, Sun Sentinel, 26 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“The body politic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20body%20politic. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share