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adj. 1. Serving as part of a whole; component: a constituent element. 2. Empowered to elect or designate. 3. Authorized to make or amend a constitution: a constituent assembly. n. 1. A constituent part; a component. See Synonyms at element. 2. A resident of a district or member of a group represented by an elected official. 3. One that authorizes another to act as a representative; a client. 4. A structural unit, such as a verb, noun phrase, or clause, in a grammatical construction. [Latin cōnstituēns, cōnstituent-, present participle of cōnstituere, to set up; see CONSTITUTE. N., from French, from Latin cōnstituēns, from present participle of cōnstituere.] con·stitu·ent·ly adv. |
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