pol ‧ i ‧ ti ‧ cian W2 /ˌpɒləˈtɪʃ ə n, ˌpɒlɪˈtɪʃ ə n $ ˌpɑː-/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ politician , ↑ politics , ↑ politicization , ↑ politicking , ↑ politico ; adjective : ↑ political , ↑ politicized , ↑ apolitical , ↑ politic ; verb : ↑ politicize ; adverb : ↑ politically ]
1 . someone who works in politics, especially an elected member of the government:
politicians who are trying to get the minority vote
a British Labour politician
2 . someone who is skilled at dealing with people or using the situation within an organization to gain an advantage:
the office politician
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COLLOCATIONS
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + politician
▪ a Labour/Republican etc politician
Her mother was a Labour politician.
▪ an opposition politician (=belonging to the party that is not in power – used in some political systems)
Opposition politicians argued that there was not enough reason to go to war.
▪ a left-wing/right-wing politician
He had been under attack from right-wing politicians for some time.
▪ a leading/prominent politician
The scandal ruined the careers of several leading politicians.
▪ a senior politician
Talks between senior politicians in Zagreb and Belgrade took place.
▪ a local politician
The plan is strongly supported by local politicians.
▪ an elected politician
Are the country’s elected politicians trustworthy?
▪ popular
He is the most popular politician in the country.
▪ corrupt (=one who is not honest)
They make quiet deals with corrupt politicians.
▪ astute/shrewd (=one who is good at getting what he wants done)
He proved to be an astute politician.
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THESAURUS
▪ politician someone who works in politics, especially an elected member of the government:
senior politicians
▪ statesman a political or government leader, especially one who is well-respected:
a respected elder statesman
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great statesmen like Roosevelt and Churchill
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He would later describe the king as ‘one of the most brilliant statesmen I have ever been privileged to meet’.
▪ MP/Member of Parliament in Britain, someone who has been elected to a parliament to represent people from a particular area of the country:
Ken Newton, MP
▪ congressman a man who is a member of a congress, especially the US House of Representatives:
a Republican congressman
▪ congresswoman a woman who is a member of a congress, especially the US House of Representatives:
Mrs McKinney was the state’s first black congresswoman.
▪ senator a member of the senate, especially in the US:
Senator Clinton
▪ representative in the US, a member of the House of Representatives:
Democratic Representatives
▪ mayor someone who has been elected to lead the government of a town or city:
Boris Johnson was elected Mayor of London.
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the former New York mayor, Rudy Giuliani
▪ spin doctor someone who is used by a political party to influence people’s opinions by cleverly controlling what is reported in the news:
The party spin doctors would like us to believe that the government is committed to improving the environment.