gubernatorial
2 synonyms for gubernatorial, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Adjective — Relating to a governor, especially the governor of a US state, or to the office and election of one.
Synonyms
Everyday swaps
Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
governor's
How to use gubernatorial
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
gubernatorial race
gubernatorial candidate
gubernatorial election
gubernatorial primary
gubernatorial veto
Formal and almost entirely American political and journalistic usage; it has no ordinary conversational use.
Etymology
From Latin gubernator 'steersman, governor', from gubernare 'to steer', itself from Greek kybernan.
Full origin of gubernatorial →Frequently asked questions
Why is it gubernatorial and not governorial?
Governor reached English through French, which softened the Latin gubernator into governeur. The adjective was borrowed later and directly from the Latin stem gubernator-, so it kept the original b and u. The two words share an ancestor but took different routes.
What is the difference between gubernatorial and presidential elections?
A gubernatorial election chooses the governor who heads an individual state's executive branch. A presidential election chooses the national head of state and government. They run on different cycles, and many states deliberately hold gubernatorial races in non-presidential years.
