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First Amendment

First Amendment

116 4.0
An amendment to the U.S. Constitution that protects freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and the right to petition
  • noun
  • /fɜrst əˈmɛndmənt/
  • US
translation icon : Primera Enmienda
  • A very peaceful First Amendment protected protest.
  • First Amendment rights
  • First Amendment protections
  • First Amendment freedoms

That is, it has no First Amendment protection and can be banned.

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Examples

  • I agree with you that the First Amendment is broad and it protects his speech.

  • Well, the First Amendment doesn't protect defamation.

  • So I think the First Amendment is in very good shape.

  • I think the state of First Amendment law is good in the country.

  • This is my First Amendment right.

  • Okay, my presentation is on the First Amendment.

  • They'll be defending the First Amendment.

  • Now why on earth would a man in my position want to hinder a journalist's First Amendment rights?

  • Nothing's riding on this except the First Amendment of the Constitution... freedom of the press, and maybe the future of the country.

  • Many people are concerned about their First Amendment rights, about their right to protest.

Synonyms

1 3.3

A law that protects freedom of speech, religion, the press, assembly, and petition

is the shorter common name used in everyday contexts

Surface Forms

Morphology

first + amendment

Knowing 'first' and 'amendment' lets a B1 learner infer this is the first modification or addition (e.g., to a legal text), so the basic compositional idea is clear. However, the specific legal content—that it refers to the U.S. Constitution and guarantees particular freedoms (speech, religion, assembly, petition)—is not derivable from the words alone, making the full meaning unpredictable without prior exposure.

Etymology

First Amendment began as the very first item in a list of changes to the U.S. Constitution, so imagine the first line on an important list that protected people's right to speak, pray, write or publish, meet together, and ask the government for change. That's why First Amendment now stands for those key 'freedoms', especially 'freedom of speech' and the right to practice religion, which stop the government from limiting these rights.