STATES' RIGHTS

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does states' rights mean? 

• STATES' RIGHTS (noun)
  The noun STATES' RIGHTS has 2 senses:

1. a doctrine that federal powers should be curtailed and returned to the individual states

2. the rights conceded to the states by the United States constitution

  Familiarity information: STATES' RIGHTS used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• STATES' RIGHTS (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A doctrine that federal powers should be curtailed and returned to the individual states

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("states' rights" is a kind of...):

doctrine; ism; philosophical system; philosophy; school of thought (a belief (or system of beliefs) accepted as authoritative by some group or school)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "states' rights"):

nullification (the states'-rights doctrine that a state can refuse to recognize or to enforce a federal law passed by the United States Congress)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The rights conceded to the states by the United States constitution

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("states' rights" is a kind of...):

right (an abstract idea of that which is due to a person or governmental body by law or tradition or nature)

Domain usage:

plural; plural form (the form of a word that is used to denote more than one)