supermajority

English

Etymology

From super- (“above, greater than”) +‎ majority

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌs(j)upɜɹməˈd͡ʒɔɹɪti/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

supermajority (plural supermajorities)

1. A majority of the items being counted that reaches some preset threshold greater than 50%, typically 67% or 75%.
   • 2013 November 30, Ross Ramsey, “Supermajority Poses Dilemma for Both Parties”, in The New York Times‎^[1], ISSN 0362-4331:

     The Texas Senate operates on a supermajority, too. Under ordinary circumstances, it takes approval from two-thirds of the 31 senators to bring a bill to the floor for debate.

   • 2019 March 5, Tim Wu, “The Oppression of the Supermajority”, in The New York Times‎^[2], ISSN 0362-4331:

     The defining political fact of our time is not polarization. It’s the inability of even large bipartisan majorities to get what they want on issues like these. Call it the oppression of the supermajority.

   • 2021 April 15, Libby Brooks, “Could Salmond’s ‘supermajority’ talk harm the Scottish independence cause?”, in The Guardian‎^[3]:

     Launching his new political party, Alba, he [Alex Salmond] claimed he could help secure a “supermajority” for independence in the next Scottish parliament, which would significantly weaken Westminster’s opposition to a second independence referendum.

Synonyms

• qualified majority

Hyponyms

• two-third majority, two-thirds majority
• three-quarters majority

Coordinate terms

• superminority, qualified minority, plurality, relative majority, simple majority, absolute majority

Related terms

• supermajoritarian
• supermajoritarianism

Translations

majority that reaches a preset threshold greater than 50%

• Catalan: majoria qualificada f
• Czech: kvalifikovaná většina f, supervětšina f
• Danish: kvalificeret flertal (da) f
• Dutch: gekwalificeerde meerderheid f
• Finnish: määräenemmistö (fi)
• French: majorité qualifiée (fr) f

• German: qualifizierte Mehrheit f
• Hebrew: הצבעת רוב‎
• Hungarian: minősített többség
• Portuguese: maioria qualificada f
• Spanish: mayoría calificada f, mayoría cualificada f
• Swedish: kvalificerad majoritet (sv) c