Meanings
plural quangos · alternative QUANGO
- UKderogatoryoftengovernmentAn organization that, although financed by a government, acts independently of it.
Various state committees and quangos had had stands; government and opposition ministers had attended.
2009, China Miéville, The City & The City1 more example
The strongest link to the State, however, occurs with quangos, (quasi-NGOs), and the many umbrella groups that also thrive on State support. Many of the new parties realized after their Sturm und Drang years that they still needed regular contacts with the 'civil' world and that their civilian support base had been seriously eroded.
1998, Ferenc Miszlivetz; Katalin Ertsey, “Hungary: Civil Society in the Post-Socialist World”, in Alison van Rooy, editor, Civil Society and the Aid Industry: The Politics and Promise, London: Earthscan, OCLC ISBN 978-1-85383-553-7; republished as Civil Society and the Aid Industry (Earthscan Library Collection, Aid and Development; 3), London; Stirling, Va.: Earthscan, 2013, ISBN 978-1-84971-042-8, page 78
Synonyms & antonyms
nouna quasi nongovernmental organization; an organization that is financed by the government yet acts independently of the government
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From the initial letters (the first two letters for the first word) of quasi-autonomous non-governmental organization. Coined by American president of the Carnegie Foundation Alan Pifer in 1967.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
French autorité administrative indépendante
- autorité administrative indépendanteorganization that, although financed by a government, acts independently of it
Polish quango
- quangoorganization that, although financed by a government, acts independently of it
Russian кванго
- кванго (kvango)organization that, although financed by a government, acts independently of it
Welsh cwango
- cwangoorganization that, although financed by a government, acts independently of it
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with quango
All rhymes →Cite this entry
quango. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/quango
“quango.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/quango. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “quango,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/quango.
Source: quango on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.