societal

From society +‎ -al.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): [səˈsaɪ.ɪ.tɫ̩]

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (General American, Canada) IPA^(key): [səˈsaɪ.ə.tɫ̩], [səˈsaɪ.ə.ɾɫ̩]
• (General Australian, New Zealand) IPA^(key): [səˈsɑe.ə.tɫ̩], [səˈsɑe.ə.ɾɫ̩]

societal (comparative more societal, superlative most societal)

1. Of or pertaining to society or social groups, or to their activities, customs, etc.
   • 1992 May 31, David Rehr, “Hayek's Legacy of the Spontaneous Order”, in Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis‎^[1], archived from the original on 20 October 2025:

     But his real legacy, which has touched each of us more than we will likely ever know, centers around a rather simple notion of spontaneous order of societal development.

   • 2010, Malcolm Knox, The Monthly, April 2010, Issue 55, The Monthly Ptd Ltd, page 46:

     While H5N1 flu is obviously lethal, some milder flus pose a greater societal threat, Professor Mathews says.

   • 2023 July 26, Ben Jones, “EU open access growth offers pointers for UK hopefuls”, in RAIL, number 988, page 33:

     "It would also bring huge societal and economic benefits to all the regions of Britain, not just to London - helping the Government with its 'levelling up' agenda."

• “societal”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.

• aloetics, coaliest, coalites, cosalite

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

• IPA^(key): /soθjeˈtal/ [so.θjeˈt̪al] (Spain, Equatorial Guinea)
• IPA^(key): /sosjeˈtal/ [so.sjeˈt̪al] (Latin America, Philippines)
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: so‧cie‧tal

societal m or f (masculine and feminine plural societales)

1. societal