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What verb can I use to indicate the process of putting together boards, work groups etc? That is, what verb goes in the slot in the following examples?

  1. Bodies that are _____ through election shall...

  2. When boards are ______...

I realise that I can always rephrase, but I'd like to know if there is, in fact, a verb I can use in this exact way. Note that I don't mean the original creation of a new board/body, but the process of "staffing" a certain body, whether it's a new body, or one that has been around for a while.

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    Being elected, and being appointed, to a position are different.
    – Michael Harvey
    Jun 12, 2022 at 14:27
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    "Bodies whose members are appointed..." (but, as Michael says, they are either elected or appointed, not both.)
    – Kate Bunting
    Jun 12, 2022 at 14:37
  • @MichaelHarvey Right, so which verb could I use instead? Meaning 'put together' – i.e. "Bodies that are put together through election".
    – Lillatanten
    Jun 12, 2022 at 14:53
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    What's wrong with 'elected bodies' or 'appointed bodies'?
    – Michael Harvey
    Jun 12, 2022 at 14:56
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    It's not clear to me whether OP's context involves simply replacing the personnel who constitute the "board of directors" / "ruling body" of some organisation that already exists, OR "putting together" (by election, appointment, or whatever) a group of people to create / administer some new "body, group, organisation".
    – FumbleFingers
    Jun 12, 2022 at 18:21

3 Answers 3

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Forms of the verbs "choose" or "select" could be used.

Versions of text 1 might be:

  • Bodies that are chosen through election shall...
  • Bodies that are selected through election shall...

Versions of text 2 might be:

  • When boards are appointed ...
  • When boards are chosen by appointment ...
  • When boards are selected by appointment ...

Other verbs might be used, but I think those would be the most common for this construction.

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If you absolutely need a word to fill in the blank, the closest I can come up with is "assembled."

It's not particularly idiomatic to say that a body is "assembled through election," though. It would likely be better to rephrase the point in a more natural way, as a number of comments have suggested.

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  • Thank you! What about "constituted" then (see the comments to Michael Harvey's answer)?
    – Lillatanten
    Jun 12, 2022 at 21:58
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    Constituted is also generally ok, but "constituted through election" is not any smoother than the above. "Through election" is the problem. It's understandable, but it's not what people say.
    – cruthers
    Jun 13, 2022 at 0:38
  • Thank you again! Much appreciated!
    – Lillatanten
    Jun 13, 2022 at 14:44
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In British English, you can discuss the individual members of an appointed body, or the body itself as a singular thing.

Parole Board members are appointed, by ministers, under Schedule 19 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003

The Parole Board is appointed by ministers.

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  • Thank you!! Now that I understand that "appoint" is rather narrow in its meaning, I'm wondering whether there is a more general verb though, that refers to the process of putting together a board, whether by election or appointment?
    – Lillatanten
    Jun 12, 2022 at 15:03
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    @Lillatanten - When they are created, you can say more formally that they are constituted.
    – Michael Harvey
    Jun 12, 2022 at 15:05
  • Thanks again! So... would "Bodies that are constituted through election" work? To me, that sounds odd, but I don't really trust my intuition here :)
    – Lillatanten
    Jun 12, 2022 at 15:10
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    A body that was constituted by Parliament could have members appointed or elected to it.
    – Michael Harvey
    Jun 12, 2022 at 15:25
  • Excellent! Thank you! So "Bodies that are constituted through election" would work?
    – Lillatanten
    Jun 12, 2022 at 15:47

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