relative majority

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Word: Relative Majority

Part of Speech: Noun

Definition: A "relative majority" refers to the situation in an election where a candidate or party receives the most votes compared to others, but does not get more than half of the total votes. This means they have more votes than any other candidate or party, but not enough to be considered a majority (which would be over 50%).

Usage Instructions

• Use "relative majority" when discussing election results or voting scenarios where there are more than two options.
• It is often used in political contexts, especially when analyzing the outcomes of elections.

Example

• In the recent election, Candidate A received 40% of the votes, while Candidate B got 35%, and Candidate C received 25%. Therefore, Candidate A won by a relative majority.

Advanced Usage

• In some electoral systems, a relative majority can lead to a candidate winning the election without a majority of votes, which can sometimes lead to discussions about fairness and representation in politics.

Word Variants

• Majority: This refers to more than half of the votes.
• Plural: Relative majorities (when discussing multiple elections or candidates).

Different Meanings

• The term "majority" on its own can refer to any group that has more than half of something, such as votes or members in a group.

Synonyms

• Plurality: This is often used interchangeably with "relative majority" in the context of elections.
• Leading candidate: Refers to the candidate with the most votes, though it doesn't specify if they have a relative majority or not.

Idioms and Phrasal Verbs

• There aren't specific idioms or phrasal verbs directly related to "relative majority," but you might encounter phrases like "winning by a landslide" (which indicates a much larger majority) or "to edge out" (to narrowly win against competitors).

Summary

In summary, a "relative majority" is an important concept in elections where a candidate or party wins the most votes among several options but does not achieve an outright majority.

Academic

Noun

1. (in an election with more than 2 options) the number of votes for the candidate or party receiving the greatest number (but less that half of the votes)

Synonyms

• plurality