societal

/səˈsaɪədl/

/səˈsaɪɛtəl/

Other forms: societally

Use the adjective societal to describe something that is related to society, like the societal changes that came about as a result of the civil rights movement.

People living together in a community make up a society, and anything connected to that group can be described as societal. Societal pressures are expectations that affect the entire community, or specific parts of it, like the pressure to get married and have children. Society, which is at the root of societal, has been used since the 1500s to mean "friendly association with others." The meaning shifted in the next one hundred years to refer specifically to an orderly community of people.

Definitions of societal

1. adjective

   relating to human society and its members
   “societal evolution”

   “societal forces”

   synonyms: social