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Citizen vs Government - What's the difference?

citizen | government |

As nouns the difference between citizen and government

is that citizen is a pupil of while government is the body with the power to make and/or enforce laws to control a country, land area, people or organization.

citizen

Noun

(en noun)
  • A person who is legally recognized as a member of a state, with associated rights and obligations.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2012-01
  • , author=Steven Sloman , title=The Battle Between Intuition and Deliberation , volume=100, issue=1, page=74 , magazine= citation , passage=Libertarian paternalism is the view that, because the way options are presented to citizens affects what they choose, society should present options in a way that “nudges” our intuitive selves to make choices that are more consistent with what our more deliberative selves would have chosen if they were in control.}}
    When the rebellion broke out, the United States promptly evacuated its citizens from the area.
  • (dated) A member of a state that is not a monarchy; used in contrast with subject .
  • A person who is a legally recognized resident of a city or town.
  • * George Eliot
  • That large body of the working men who were not counted as citizens and had not so much as a vote to serve as an anodyne to their stomachs.
  • A resident of any particular place to which the subject feels he/she belongs.
  • * 2007', John English, '''''Citizen of the World: The Life of Pierre Elliott Trudeau
  • A civilian, as opposed to a soldier, police officer etc.
  • Synonyms

    * burgher * national

    Antonyms

    * alien * illegal * foreigner * stranger * subject

    Derived terms

    * anticitizen * citizeness * citizenhood * citizenish * citizenly * citizenry * citizenship

    Anagrams

    *

    government

    English

    Alternative forms

    * (nonstandard) , (l), (l)

    Noun

  • The body with the power to make and/or enforce laws to control a country, land area, people or organization.
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-06, volume=408, issue=8843, page=68, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= The rise of smart beta , passage=Investors face a quandary. Cash offers a return of virtually zero in many developed countries; government -bond yields may have risen in recent weeks but they are still unattractive. Equities have suffered two big bear markets since 2000 and are wobbling again. It is hardly surprising that pension funds, insurers and endowments are searching for new sources of return.}}
  • The relationship between a word and its dependents
  • A group of people who hold a monopoly on the legitimate use of force in a given territory.
  • The state and its administration viewed as the ruling political power.
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-22, volume=407, issue=8841, page=76, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= Snakes and ladders , passage=Risk is everywhere. From tabloid headlines insisting that coffee causes cancer (yesterday, of course, it cured it) to stern government warnings about alcohol and driving, the world is teeming with goblins.}}
  • (lb) The management or control of a system.
  • :
  • The tenure of a chief of state.
  • Derived terms

    * big government * branch of government * close enough for government work * federal government * government agent * government bond * government-censored * government cheese * government debt * government house * government issue * government man * government note * government purchases * government security * government stroke * government wharf * governmental * governmentese * governmentwide * head of government * in government * local government * military government * minority government * municipal government * non-government * parliamentary government * petticoat government * puppet government * representative government * seat of government * self-government * shadow government * unitary government

    Usage notes

    In the United States, "government" is considered to be divided into three branches; the legislature (the House of Representatives and the Senate) which makes law, the Administration (under the President) which runs sections of government within the law, and the Courts, which adjudicate on matters of the law. This is a much wider meaning of "government" than exists in other countries where the term "government" means the ruling political force of the prime minister and his/her cabinet ministers (what Americans would call the Administration). In Britain, the administrative organs of the nation are collectively referred to as "the state". In Canada government'' is used in both senses and neither ''state'' nor ''administration are used. Applied to many countries in continental Europe (when using English), the British usage is common.

    See also

    *

    Statistics

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