special interest
nounDefinition of special interest
: a person or group seeking to influence legislative or government policy to further often narrowly defined interests
especially
: lobby
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Synonyms for special interest
Synonyms
interest, interest group, pressure group
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Examples of special interest in a Sentence
promised that as governor he would never be beholden to special interests
Recent Examples on the Web
More than $1 million, raised from Statehouse lobbyists, industry leaders and special interest groups, flowed to The Greenbrier for inaugural expenses. — Ken Ward Jr., ProPublica, "Lawmakers Call for Ethics Reform to Deal With Billionaire Resort-Owning Governor," 21 Aug. 2019 Taxpaying citizens or the special interest groups who will move elsewhere once Denver is a concrete jungle? — Dp Opinion, The Denver Post, "Letters: No unity in the analysis of Mueller testimony (7/28/19)," 28 July 2019 The other half are selected by special interest groups—such as the financial and real estate professions—meaning that the body tends to be controlled by a mostly pro-Beijing business elite rather than by voters. — Time, "'Whenever There’s Trouble He Rushes There.' Meet Legislator Roy Kwong, the God of Hong Kong Protests," 20 July 2019 Booker is one of several Democratic presidential candidates who have tried to keep distance between themselves and special interest money and support. — NBC News, "Booker endorsement demonstrates tough balancing act for candidates," 2 Aug. 2019 And one of them, 39-year-old human rights lawyer Yasmine Taeb, has painted Saslaw as too conservative and too cozy with special interests. — CBS News, "Virginia holds primary election as political watchers look for 2020 trends," 11 June 2019 The power of special interests in Oregon politics, thanks in large part to the state’s lack of campaign contribution limits, was a hot topic in the Legislature this year. — oregonlive.com, "Oregon lawmakers wrap up buzzer-beating 2019 session," 30 June 2019 One of those challengers, 39-year-old human rights lawyer Yasmine Taeb, has been aggressive in painting Saslaw as too conservative and too cozy with special interests. — Alan Suderman, chicagotribune.com, "Feisty Virginia primaries closely watched for national trend," 11 June 2019 Dave Ledford, the Humane Society’s assistant director of animal care, has had a special interest in reptiles and amphibians since childhood. — Iris Katz, baltimoresun.com/maryland/carroll, "Pet Wise: Can reptiles and amphibians make good pets?," 20 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'special interest.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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