1

I'm looking for something analogous to how "litigious" means "unreasonably prone to go to law to settle disputes". Is there a word for this?

The best I can come up with is "democratically inclined" or something equally complicated.

Edit: Here is a hypothetical usage--

"I voted today. I'm so _______!"

analogous to

"I just sued someone today. I'm so litigious."

15
  • 2
    Good citizen ?.
    – user66974
    Nov 4, 2014 at 17:25
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    I was also considering "patriotic" (which is similar to what you've said) but that also seems to have a much broader meaning
    – user96642
    Nov 4, 2014 at 17:25
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    I don't think there's such a word. If there were, I'm pretty sure we'd have heard it on the news many times in the past few weeks.
    – Barmar
    Nov 4, 2014 at 17:29
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    (Actually, "enfranchised" comes close.)
    – Hot Licks
    Nov 4, 2014 at 17:35
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    If you're interested in coining such a term, I suggest ballotropic.
    – Sven Yargs
    Nov 4, 2014 at 17:51

6 Answers 6

4

I think that you want an adjective that describes your virtue, rather than just the act of voting (which would be redundant anyway in your example sentence).

Civic-minded

adjective
1. concerned with the well-being of the community.

1
  • Dang! I think that might be even more appropriate than my politically engaged. Neither of them specifically evoke "willingness to vote" to the exclusion of other activities concerned with how a community establishes/upholds its values, but I think we can take it for granted both politically engaged and civic-minded individuals almost certainly would vote (and actively try to persuade others to do likewise). Nov 6, 2014 at 0:17
2

The phrase that's usually used in news reporting about upcoming elections is likely voters.

But if you're looking for an adjective, rather than a name for the people, I suspect there isn't one. It seems like it would be used often in news discussions of election predictions and voter apathy, yet I've never heard it.

1
  • Thank you but I'm looking for an adjective, not a noun, analogous to my example: "litigious".
    – user96642
    Nov 4, 2014 at 17:32
1

I don't know a single-word term (or at least, I can't call one to mind), but politically engaged seems like a reasonable adjectival phrase to identify people who care enough to vote in pursuit of their political ideals.

That's as opposed to politically active, which I would generally understand to mean people who stand for election (or actively canvass in support of their preferred candidate).


OP's litigious is invariably a pejorative usage for someone who takes advantage of the legal system to promote their own self-interest. But democratic is usually a desirable attribute, and it doesn't denote someone who takes advantage of a voting system for personal gain.

0

Politicians are often said to have "mobilized" certain demographics, meaning they've motivated certain groups to vote. Those (potential) voters could be called "mobilized," though without the right context the meaning would not be clear, so it's not a perfect analogue to the unambiguous "litigious."

0

You can consider election-minded.

There is no dictionary entry for this neologism but it has a prevalent usage. There are a lot of results when you search on Google an Google Books. It is used in the news also.

Moreover, it can have several election-related meanings like someone (a voter) who is inclined to vote in an election, someone (a politician) who wants an election, someone who is "in the mood of elections" etc.

Example usages:

Welcome to Electowiki! This is a wiki associated with the Election-methods mailing list, and communities of election-minded people.

http://wiki.electorama.com/wiki/Main_Page


'Listen. We need more outdoor meetings. The kind to draw crowds. To get the populace election-minded. Or they'll forget to vote next month.'

[Sons And Daughters By Mary Jane Staples (2011)]


Election-Minded Dems Say 'No Thanks' to Obama

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/politics/2014/October/Election-Minded-Dems-Say-No-Thanks-to-Obama/

There is also voting-minded but the usage is not prevalent.

0

Use an adjective in front of citizen and you'll express clearly your intention. I would suggest either exemplary or dutiful

Today I voted, I'm such a dutiful / an exemplary citizen.

(a) What are the civic virtues that one should exhibit to be considered an exemplary citizen?
(b) An exemplary citizen should be ready to offer himself for Voting.

(c) For the “dutiful citizen,” involvement in political and civic life is seen as an obligation and is expressed through conventional activities such as voting and following political news...

(d) ("I am a dutiful citizen since I vote")

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