Distinguishing Between Elected & Selected

Key Takeaways

• Elected refers to choosing someone based on voting, often in a political context.
• Selected means to choose someone or something on a general basis, usually an individual’s choice.
• The key difference between elected and selected is that elected has a political basis emphasizing choice based on a vote, while selected does not.

The verbs select and elect both imply choosing something or someone for a particular purpose or picking something from a list of choices. However, the usage of these two verbs differs depending on the context.

What Does Elected Mean?

Elected is the past tense of the verb ‘elect’. The Oxford Dictionary defines elect as ‘to decide on or choose, especially to choose a person for a particular job by voting.’ Elect typically refers to the selection made upon voting, giving it a political interpretation, unlike select. An elected person is someone who will represent the choice of a group of people through the voting process.

What Does Selected Mean?

Selected is the past tense of the verb select. Select essentially means to choose a particular item from a collection. The Oxford Dictionary defines the meaning of select as ‘to choose a small number of things, or to choose by making careful decisions’. Often, select defines a choice made by an individual, but there are occasions where select conveys a choice of a group or a set of people.

What is the Difference Between Elected and Selected?

Elected, the past tense of the verb elect, means to choose someone based on voting and is often used in a political scenario. Selected, the past tense of the verb select, means to choose someone or something on a general basis. Elected often conveys the choice made by a group of people or a community, while selected often conveys the choice made by an individual.

Summary – Elected vs Selected

Many people tend to use the verbs elect and select interchangeably. Even though they both convey the meaning of making a choice, the verb elect has a political basis, which emphasizes choosing based on a vote, whereas select does not. Therefore, the key difference between elected and selected is that elected has a political basis emphasizing choice based on a vote, while selected does not.