Skip to main content
legislative act

legislative act

1 5.5
A law passed by a parliament or congress
  • noun
  • /ˈlɛdʒɪsleɪtɪv ækt/
  • Formal
translation icon : acto legislativo
  • Congress introduced a legislative act that aims to reduce carbon emissions nationwide.
  • only the legislative act

Examples

  • Regarding the possibility of causation, there are many instances of states putting forward new legislation in their national reports as fulfilling the treaty requirements, but only in a few cases are these legislative acts directly connected to previous treaty body recommendations.

    Academic text (2016)
  • Powers previously granted to the superintendent were taken away through the courts and the passage of various legislative acts.

    Academic text (2000)
  • A legislative act focuses on broad questions of public policy, affecting the population generally.

    Academic text (2001)
  • In certain businesses, such as banking, legislative acts have created compelling reasons to partner with nonprofit agencies.

    Academic text (2002)
  • The adoption of a comprehensive zoning ordinance or amendment, for example, is a legislative act.

    Academic text (2001)
  • Separate legislative acts define the offenses, set the sanctions, and govern the procedures for their application.

    Blog text (6)
  • For example, scholars now examine not only the specific legislative acts regarding immigration, but also the judicial cases and administrative decisions affecting the admission and deportation of aliens.

    Academic text (1999)
  • The new legislative act was passed to improve healthcare access for all citizens.

  • The controversial legislative act prompted widespread debate among lawmakers and citizens.

Synonyms

act
vslegislative act
  • Formal
267 5.5

A law officially passed by a parliament or congress

is the same in meaning but names the law with explicit legislative passage
statute
vslegislative act
  • Formal
234 5.5

A written law made by a country's lawmakers that people must follow

focuses more on formal passage by a legislature than mere written form
enactment
vslegislative act
  • Formal
3 5.1

A law that a government approves and puts into effect

restricts meaning to laws passed by a legislative body, not all approvals

Antonyms

205 4.9

The official power to reject a decision or law

repeal
  • Formal
61 5.5

An official ending of a law or rule

How Final

law
1.0
legislative act
  • Formal
1 5.5
bill
4.1
proposal
817 2.9

Surface Forms

Morphology

legislative + act

The meaning 'a law formally passed by a legislature' is directly derivable from combining 'legislative' (relating to law-making) with 'act' (a statute). This is a straightforward compositional noun phrase following common cross-linguistic patterns, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily understand it.

Etymology

The phrase legislative act comes from the simple idea of lawmakers taking a formal action: legislative refers to the people who make rules and act means a formal action they write down. So a legislative act is the written action of a parliament or congress, that is a 'law'.