Constitute

//ˈkɑnstɪt(j)uːt// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    An established law. obsolete

    "A naughty man that will not obey the kings constitute."

Verb
  1. 1
    To set up; to establish; to enact. transitive

    "Laws appointed and constituted by lawful authority."

  2. 2
    set up or lay the groundwork for wordnet
  3. 3
    To make up; to compose; to form. transitive

    "1779–81, Samuel Johnson, "Abraham Cowley" in Lives of the Most Eminent English Poet Truth and reason constitute that intellectual gold that defies destruction."

  4. 4
    create and charge with a task or function wordnet
  5. 5
    To appoint, depute, or elect to an office; to make and empower. transitive

    "Me didst Thou constitute a priest of thine."

Show 2 more definitions
  1. 6
    form or compose wordnet
  2. 7
    to compose or represent wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
establishestablishformformmake upmake up

Example

More examples

"These things constitute a balanced meal."

Etymology

From Middle English constituten, from Latin cōnstitūtum, neuter of cōnstitūtus, past participle of Latin cōnstituō (“to put in place; set up; establish”), from con- (“with”) + statuō (“to put up; establish”).

Related phrases

make upset up

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.