electorate

Definition

The collective people of a country, state, or electoral district who are entitled to vote.

Etymology

From elector (“person eligible to vote in an election; German prince entitled to elect the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire”) + -ate (forms nouns denoting a rank or office, the concrete charge of it).

Example Sentences

• "The votes have been counted and the electorate has spoken."
• "Incoming governments normally announce that they will seek to serve the whole electorate. Now, playing out in triplicate across the UK is a "divide and rule" approach to leadership, straight from Donald Trump's playbook: each faction consolidating its base, choosing an enemy and accusing opponents of treason in the hope that in a multiparty system they can win with a minority of votes."
• "His cerebral candidacy, inspired by European and North American political and economic philosophers, and his very appearance, with his light-colored skin, trim physique and penchant for preppy sweaters, contrasted with an electorate largely made up of impoverished Quechua-speaking people and Spanish-speaking mestizos."

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