Home > S Words > Stateless society

Stateless society

Definition of Stateless Society

(noun) A society that lacks a formal State authority.

Stateless Society Pronunciation

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: state·less so·ci·e·ty

Audio Pronunciation

– American English
– British English

Phonetic Spelling

  • American English – /stAYt-luhs suh-sIE-uh-tee/
  • British English – /stAYt-lis suh-sIE-uh-tee/

International Phonetic Alphabet

  • American English – /ˈsteɪtlɪs səˈsaɪəti/
  • British English – /ˈsteɪtləs səˈsaɪəti/

Usage Notes

  • Plural: Stateless societies
  • Variant spelling:
    • State-less society
    • stateless society
  • Also called:
    • acephalous – literally a “headless” society
    • segmented society

Additional Information

Related Terms

Cite the Definition of Stateless Society

ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “Stateless society.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved April 19, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/stateless-society/).

APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)

Stateless society. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/stateless-society/

Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “Stateless society.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed April 19, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/stateless-society/.

MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

“Stateless society.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 19 Apr. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/stateless-society/>.