status quo essay definition

Status Quo Meaning: Here’s What It Means and How To Use It

Status quo is an important phrase to know in the modern world — here’s how to discover the meaning of status quo and use it IRL!

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One of the most exciting things about language is how many world languages borrow from each other. As scholars and linguists look at words in the modern world, they can often trace their roots back to languages that existed hundreds or thousands of years ago. The phrase “ status quo ” is a fantastic example of how words acquire meanings and definitions from old languages and vocabularies. 

Status quo is one of the most important phrases to understand in the modern world. It’s one of the most effective ways to describe the existing state of affairs or detail the current condition of things. Because of its ancient origins and modern functions, it can be used in many ways. 

If you aren’t sure how to properly use this phrase, don’t worry — you’ve come to the right place! You need to know everything about what this word means, where it comes from in the broader world of language, and how to use it in the most appropriate and up-to-date way. 

What Does Status Quo Mean? 

Status quo (ˌsteɪtəs ˈkwəʊ) in modern American English and British English is a phrase that describes the current state of affairs. It is often used to contrast a potential change or something that might evolve if action is taken to alter it. 

Status quo is a word used with both negative and positive connotations, so you don’t need to worry about misusing it. It is most commonly used in political situations, mainly because governmental conditions are constantly shifting, and people are trying to relate them to stable environments. Despite that, it is still often used in typical life contexts, and it doesn’t need to be used in high-stakes situations all the time. 

While looking at definitions for a word can be helpful, one of the best ways to understand what a word means is by seeing it used in context or compared to other words. If you were to look in a thesaurus for word lists of synonyms, you would likely find words and phrases including: 

• State of Affairs
• Existing Conditions
• How things are
• Things at the present

Where Does the Word Status Quo Come From? 

Like many other words and phrases in the English language, the phrase’s etymology is found in Ancient Latin. 

The Latin status quō essentially translates to “the state in which,” which was used in many contexts in its original language. However, it was incorporated into many scholarly discussions and literature as time went on. Many scholars and writers started to incorporate Latin phrases into their writing as time went on, which led to the words being used in many more situations. 

A related phrase, status quo ante , literally translates to “the status before.” It refers to how things were before something happened and is popularly used in many similar contexts. 

Over the years, many people started incorporating the word into more day-to-day settings alongside other words adopted from Latin. This is an excellent example of how many other idioms and collocations are transferred from one language to another, showing how deeply connected language is. 

Example Sentences Using the Phrase Status Quo

One of the best ways to learn how to use a word properly is by seeing it in everyday sentences that you might use on your own. That’s how almost everyone realizes how to speak when they’re growing up, and it’s a practice that transfers excellently to learning phrases later in life. 

Here are some examples that can help you understand what this word means in more practical contexts! 

The Portuguese government debated whether to stick with the status quo on their immigration policy or change it completely. 

I was trying to change the status quo of the word of the day aspect of our website, but everybody disagreed with me. 

The wiktionary and Wikipedia articles discussed many aspects of the status quo of foreign policy in western countries. 

Even though the status quo at Harpercollins publishers didn’t have room for a writer like Mr. Kwō, the book’s quality got him on their roster without a hitch. 

I checked out the random house down the street simply because its exterior was entirely in line with the status quo of architecture in the late 20th century. 

The school decided to crack down on all of the policies regarding dress code, even though the status quo for a long time had been incredibly lenient. 

The editors of the Merriam-Webster dictionary maintained the status quo of quality within the newest editions of the dictionary. 

If status quo is just one of many phrases you don’t know or understand in the modern world of English, then you’ve come to the right place! Here at The Word Counter , we’re constantly uploading new articles and blog posts about how to best use the words, phrases, and grammar rules of modern English. 

Where a thesaurus or dictionary might give you some basic definitions at best, it’s our goal to provide a clear, dynamic, and relevant understanding of what a word means in the modern world. We’re always looking to give people a resource to increase the quality and efficacy of their communication in as many ways as possible. The more clearly you’re able to communicate in the modern world, the better off you’ll be! 

If you want to be the best communicator possible, check out our blog right here ! 

• Status quo Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com
• Status quo – Definition, Meaning & Synonyms | Vocabulary.com
• Status quo definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary

Kevin Miller is a growth marketer with an extensive background in Search Engine Optimization, paid acquisition and email marketing. He is also an online editor and writer based out of Los Angeles, CA. He studied at Georgetown University, worked at Google and became infatuated with English Grammar and for years has been diving into the language, demystifying the do's and don'ts for all who share the same passion! He can be found online here.

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Definition of status quo

Examples of status quo in a sentence, word history.

Latin, state in which

1719, in the meaning defined above

Articles Related to status quo

George Orwell's 'Politics and the...

George Orwell's 'Politics and the English Language'

Word Matters, episode 85

Dictionary Entries Near status quo

status offender

status quo ante

Cite this Entry

“Status quo.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/status%20quo. Accessed 13 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

Kids definition of status quo, legal definition, legal definition of status quo, more from merriam-webster on status quo.

Nglish: Translation of status quo for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of status quo for Arabic Speakers

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Chapter 1 Writing to Think and Writing to Learn

1.1 examining the status quo, learning objectives.

• Understand your roles and responsibilities as a person engaged in higher education.
• Explore the relationship between higher education and the status quo.
• Learn ways to examine the status quo in your surroundings consistently and productively.

Why are you here?

The question sounds simple enough, and you may well have developed some stock answers by now.

I’m here because…

• I want to be a ______________ when I grow up.
• college graduates make more money.
• my parents wanted me to go here.
• my boyfriend or girlfriend got accepted here.
• I couldn’t get in anywhere else.
• I just got laid off.

Maybe the truth is, deep down, that you don’t really know yet why you’re here, and that’s OK. By the end of your college experience, you’ll have developed several good answers for why you were here, and they won’t necessarily look anything like your first stock response.

But what does this personal question about your motivations for being in college have to do with examining the status quo? Well, the first way to learn how to examine the status quo (literally, “the state in which”) is to examine your place in it. By enrolling in higher education, you’re making a choice to develop your skills and intellect beyond a baseline level of proficiency. Choosing to become a college-educated person obligates you to leave your mark on the world.

You’re investing time and money into your college education, presumably for the real benefits it will provide you, but it’s important to remember that others are investing in you as well. Perhaps family members are providing financial support, or the federal government is providing a Pell Grant or a low-interest loan, or an organization or alumni group is awarding you a scholarship. If you’re attending a state school, the state government is investing in you because your tuition (believe it or not) covers only a small portion of the total cost to educate you.

So what is the return a free, independent, evolving society expects on its investment in you, and what should you be asking of yourself? Surely something more than mere maintenance of the status quo should be in order. Rather, society expects you to be a member of a college-educated citizenry and workforce capable of improving the lives and lot of future generations.

Getting into the habit of “examining” (or even “challenging”) the status quo doesn’t necessarily mean putting yourself into a constant state of revolution or rebellion. Rather, the process suggests a kind of mindfulness , a certain disposition to ask a set of questions about your surroundings:

• What is the status quo of _________? (descriptive)
• Why is _______ the way it is? ( diagnostic )
• What (or who) made ________ this way? ( forensic )
• Was _______ ever different in the past? (historical)
• Who benefits from keeping ______ the way it is? (investigative)

Only after these relatively objective questions have been asked, researched, and answered might you hazard a couple of additional, potentially more contentious questions:

• How could or should ______ be different in the future? (speculative)
• What steps would be required to make _______ different? (policy based)

These last two types of questions are more overtly controversial, especially if they are applied to status-quo practices that have been in place for many years or even generations. But asking even the seemingly benign questions in the first category will directly threaten those forces and interests that benefit most from the preservation of the status quo. You will encounter resistance not only from this already powerful group but also from reformers with competing interests who have different opinions about where the status quo came from or how it should be changed.

These concerns about “going public” with your ideas about the status quo are covered in more detail in Chapter 4 “Joining the Conversation.” For now, before you risk losing heart or nerve for fear of making too many enemies by roiling the waters, think about the benefits the habit of privately examining the status quo might have for your thinking, writing, and learning.

Since we began this section with a discussion about education and your place in it, let’s close by having you exercise this habit on that same subject. For starters, let’s just apply the questioning habit to some of what you may have been taught about academic writing over the years. Here is one description of the status quo thinking on the subject that might be worth some examination.

What Is the Status Quo of Academic Writing ?

• Writing can and should be taught and learned in a certain, systematic way.
• Writing has been taught and learned in much the same way over time.
• Becoming a good writer is a matter of learning the forms (genres, modes, etc.) of academic writing.
• Students are blank slates who know next to nothing about how to write.
• Writing done outside of academic settings (e-mail, texting, graffiti, comics, video game design, music lyrics, etc.) is not really writing.
• Knowing what you think is a must before you turn to writing.
• Writing is largely a solitary pursuit.
• Good writing can happen in the absence of good reading.
• Using agreed-on norms and rubrics for evaluation is how experts can measure writing quality based on students’ responses to standardized prompts.

Your list might look a little different, depending on your experience as a student writer. But once you have amassed your description of the status quo, you’re ready to run each element of it through the rest of the mindfulness questions that appear earlier in the section. Or more broadly, you can fill in the blanks of those mindfulness questions with “academic writing” (as you have just described it):

• Why is academic writing the way it is?
• What (or who) made academic writing this way?
• Was academic writing ever different in the past?
• Who benefits from keeping academic writing the way it is?
• How could or should academic writing be different in the future?
• What steps would be required to make academic writing different?

Asking these kinds of questions about a practice like academic writing, or about any of the other subjects you will encounter in college, might seem like a recipe for disaster, especially if you were educated in a K–12 environment that did not value critical questioning of authority. After all, most elementary, middle, and high schools are not in the business of encouraging dissent from their students daily. Yes, there are exceptions, but they are rare, and all the more rare in recent years thanks to the stranglehold of standardized testing and concerns about school discipline. In college, on the other hand, even at the introductory level, the curriculum rewards questioning and perspective about the development and future of the given discipline under examination. Certainly, to be successful at the graduate, postgraduate, and professional level, you must be able to assess, refine, and reform the practices and assumptions of the discipline or profession of which you will be a fully vested member.

Key Takeaways

• You don’t have to know exactly why you’re here in college, but you do have to get into the habit of asking, re-asking, and answering that question daily.
• Society’s expected return on its investment in you as a college student (and your expectation of yourself) is that you will be in a position to examine the status quo and when necessary, help change it for the better.
• Learning to ask certain kinds of questions about the status quo will establish a habit of mindfulness and will lead to more productive thinking and writing about your surroundings.
• So why are you here? (Be honest, keep it private if you want, but repeat the exercise for the next twenty-eight days and see if your answer changes.)
• What is the status quo of ________? (descriptive)
• Why is _______ the way it is? (diagnostic)
• What (or who) made ________ this way? (forensic)

Some Possible Topics

• Fashion (or, if you like, a certain fashion trend or fad)
• Sports (or, if you like, a certain sport)
• Film-making
• Video games
• Music (or a particular genre of music)
• Electoral politics
• Internet or computer technology
• US foreign policy
• Health care
• Energy consumption
• Advertising
• A specific academic discipline you are currently studying in another course
• Do some research on an aspect of K–12 or college-level education that you suspect has maintained the status quo for too long. Apply the mindfulness questions to the topic, performing some research and making policy recommendations as necessary.
• Writers Handbook. Authored by : Anonymous. Provided by : Anonymous. Located at : http://2012books.lardbucket.org/books/writers-handbook/ . License : CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike

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