Meanings
plural social orders
- A particular system of social structures, institutions, customs, values, and practices which conserve, maintain, and enforce certain societal relations and behavioral patterns.
May the dysgenic social order collapse under the weight of its depravity and misdeeds.
1 more example
2017, Jennifer S. Holland, For These Monkeys, It’s a Fight for Survival., National Geographic (March 2017)http://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/03/macaques-monkeys-indonesia-endangered-pet-trade/ During my first day in the woods, Raoul, the big alpha male of Rambo II, opened wide to show me his dagger-sharp canines, then sauntered by and swatted my calf with a stick—letting me know my place in the social order. (Low.)
- The stability of a society, in contrast to social chaos and upheaval.
Translations
Chinese Mandarin 社會制度 /社会制度, 社會穩定 /社会稳定
- 社會制度 /社会制度 (shèhuì zhìdù)system for maintaining certain societal relations and behaviors
- 社會穩定 /社会稳定 (shèhuì wěndìng)societal stability
Finnish yhteiskuntajärjestys, yhteiskuntajärjestys
- yhteiskuntajärjestyssystem for maintaining certain societal relations and behaviors
- yhteiskuntajärjestyssocietal stability
Cite this entry
social order. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/social%20order
“social order.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/social%20order. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “social order,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/social%20order.
Source: social order on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.