: the existing state of affairs
seeks to preserve the status quo
Examples of status quo in a Sentence
He is content with the status quo and does not like change.
civic leaders who are afraid to do anything that might change the town's status quo
Recent Examples on the Web
As the Trump administration strips away federal funding for research, America’s wealthiest colleges, including Harvard and Princeton, are borrowing billions to maintain status quo operations short-term.
—
Emma Whitford, Forbes.com, 8 Apr. 2025
The pre-Trump status quo was better than anything else that anyone has ever come up with
Democrats are temperamentally ill-suited toward conservatism.
—Ian Millhiser, Vox, 21 Mar. 2025
Over the ensuing years, challenges persisted, with production slowdowns and logistical hiccups prompting U.S. brands to reexamine the sourcing status quo—and revisit the idea of manufacturing stateside.
—Kate Nishimura, Sourcing Journal, 10 Mar. 2025
Trump governs at a far different time, with the nation uncertain of its place in a rapidly changing world and rent by bitter internal clashes between the country’s prevailing status quo elite and Trump forces bent on upending the elite.
—Robert W. Merry, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 7 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for status quo
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Emma Whitford, Forbes.com, 8 Apr. 2025
The pre-Trump status quo was better than anything else that anyone has ever come up with
Democrats are temperamentally ill-suited toward conservatism.
—Ian Millhiser, Vox, 21 Mar. 2025
Over the ensuing years, challenges persisted, with production slowdowns and logistical hiccups prompting U.S. brands to reexamine the sourcing status quo—and revisit the idea of manufacturing stateside.
—Kate Nishimura, Sourcing Journal, 10 Mar. 2025
Trump governs at a far different time, with the nation uncertain of its place in a rapidly changing world and rent by bitter internal clashes between the country’s prevailing status quo elite and Trump forces bent on upending the elite.
—Robert W. Merry, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 7 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for status quo
Cite this Entry
“Status quo.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/status%20quo. Accessed 14 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
status quo
noun
: the existing state of affairs
specifically
: the last actual and uncontested state of affairs that preceded a controversy and that is to be preserved by preliminary injunction compare status quo ante
Etymology
Latin, state in which
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