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special-interest group

special-interest group

18 3.7
A group of people who try to influence government decisions about one issue
  • noun
  • /ˈspɛʃəl ˈɪntrəst ɡruːp/
translation icon : grupo de interés
  • Our political leaders are too indebted to special interest groups and party politics.
  • politicians and special-interest group
  • government and special-interest group
  • powerful special-interest groups

So RFCS, special interest groups really grow that community and and scale that.

Examples

  • One respondent raised the concern about the ability of special interest groups to use this methodology to provide misinformation.

    Academic text (1997)
  • Institutions affecting water management include special-interest groups, government agencies, statutes, laws, regulations, and social customs.

    Academic text (1991)
  • The public often also questions the connections between elected representatives and special interest groups.

    Academic text (2018)
  • Well, I believe we should have politicians who represent us, and not special interest groups.

  • More commonly, foreign governments collaborate with domestic special-interest groups to encourage the U.S. government to support them.

    Academic text (2005)
  • Factors such as legislature, court decisions, governmental involvement, and special interest groups contributed to this change.

    Academic text (2000)
  • Democratic systems are prone to capture by special interest groups that exploit the information asymmetry.

    Blog text (16)
  • Legislators and special interest groups can engage in joint expropriation and then divide the spoils for themselves.

    Academic text (1997)
  • The Medicare program also promised third-party payoffs, given the diverse and powerful special-interest groups involved.

    Academic text (1997)
  • The policymakers are often influenced by special-interest groups that lobby for various causes.

Synonyms

lobby
vsspecial-interest group
99 3.9

A group of people who try to persuade public officials to support a cause

emphasizes the group's shared interest and organized influence rather than individual persuasion
special interest
vsspecial-interest group
76 3.6

A group or organization that tries to influence government decisions to help its own members

is about shared interests influencing officials rather than only gaining narrow benefits
interest group
vsspecial-interest group
57 3.1

A group of people with the same goal who try to influence public decisions

is narrower, targeting specific member interests rather than broad policy fields
advocacy group
vsspecial-interest group
40 3.9

A group that tries to persuade people in power to change laws or rules for a cause

focuses more on member advantage than on campaigning for public causes
pressure group
vsspecial-interest group
  • UK
4 4.1

A group that tries to change government decisions to help a cause or its members

is similar but highlights shared group identity more than pressure tactics
lobby group
vsspecial-interest group
4 3.9

A group that tries to persuade government officials to support laws or policies

targets a wider set of public officials and decisions beyond just legislators
third house
vsspecial-interest group
  • Jargon
9.1

A group that tries to influence politicians and government decisions, often by lobbying

is the general term used across contexts, not a regionally labeled group

Antonyms

12 5.9

Not involved in government or public issues and not supporting any party

How Influential

pressure group
  • UK
4 4.1
special-interest group
18 3.7
community
2.8

Surface Forms

Morphology

special-interest + group

The core meaning — a collection of people formed around a particular or specific concern — follows directly from 'special' (particular) + 'interest' (concern) + 'group' (collection of people). The extra political nuance (lobbying/influencing officials) is an expected extension but does not prevent a B1 learner who knows the constituents from inferring the basic meaning, and the construction is cross-linguistically common.

Etymology

Special-interest group gets its name from the idea that people with one special cause or interest form a group to work together. Because they join to try to influence politicians and decisions, it means 'a group trying to influence government decisions'.