democracy

noun

de·​moc·​ra·​cy di-ˈmä-krə-sē How to pronounce democracy (audio)
plural democracies
1
a
: government by the people
especially : rule of the majority
b
: a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections
2
: a political unit that has a democratic government
3
capitalized : the principles and policies of the Democratic party in the U.S.
from emancipation Republicanism to New Deal DemocracyC. M. Roberts
4
: the common people especially when constituting the source of political authority
5
: the absence of hereditary or arbitrary class distinctions or privileges

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the United States a democracy or a republic?

The United States is both a democracy and a republic. Democracies and republics are both forms of government in which supreme power resides in the citizens. The word republic refers specifically to a government in which those citizens elect representatives who govern according to the law. The word democracy can refer to this same kind of representational government, or it can refer instead to what is also called a direct democracy, in which the citizens themselves participate in the act of governing directly.

What is the basic meaning of democracy?

The word democracy most often refers to a form of government in which people choose leaders by voting.

What is a democratic system of government?

A democratic system of government is a form of government in which supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodic free elections.

Examples of democracy in a Sentence

Democracy, I would repeat, is the noblest form of government we have yet evolved … Norman Mailer, New York Review of Books, 27 Mar. 2002
… this and the economic failures of faithful democracies in places such as India or the Anglophone Caribbean demonstrated conclusively that there was no inherent link between freedom and capitalism … Orlando Patterson, New Republic, 8 Nov. 1999
Even in democracies today, crucial knowledge is available to only a few individuals … Jared Diamond, Guns, Germs, and Steel, 1997
The nation has chosen democracy over monarchy. In a democracy, every citizen should have the right to vote. The company is not a democracy; decisions are made by a board of directors, not the workers. There is democracy within the company.
Recent Examples on the Web Western democracies are also dealing with an explosion of antisemitism not witnessed since the Holocaust. Fox News Staff, Fox News, 15 Mar. 2024 Having cleared the field, the Kremlin responds indignantly to suggestions that Russia’s democracy is fake. Robyn Dixon, Washington Post, 14 Mar. 2024 Girls State / United States (Directors: Amanda McBaine, Jesse Moss; Producers: Amanda McBaine, Jesse Moss What would American democracy look like in the hands of teenage girls? Addie Morfoot, Variety, 14 Mar. 2024 Russia’s upcoming charade is a classic example of voting without democracy. Brian Klaas, The Atlantic, 14 Mar. 2024 Biden’s barbed references to Trump were all about the former President’s offenses to American democracy. Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2024 The good news for Biden is that 35% of independents now say the most important issue is the economy/inflation, while immigration and threats to democracy have dropped to 20% each. David Paleologos, USA TODAY, 14 Mar. 2024 Instead, during the nearly 100-year period known as Jim Crow, descendants of slavery were violently subjected to a dragnet of racist laws that kept them from most opportunities and also prevented America from becoming a true democracy. Nikole Hannah-Jones, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2024 The United States has not brought peace to the region, turned dictatorships into democracies, or otherwise transformed a perennial trouble spot into a zone of peace; but the U.S. presence, on balance, has helped preserve the United States’ interests and those of its allies. Daniel Byman, Foreign Affairs, 12 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'democracy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Middle French democracie, democratie, borrowed from Late Latin dēmocratia, borrowed from Greek dēmokratía, from dēmo- demo- + -kratia -cracy

First Known Use

1539, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of democracy was in 1539

Dictionary Entries Near democracy

Cite this Entry

“Democracy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/democracy. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

democracy

noun
de·​moc·​ra·​cy di-ˈmäk-rə-sē How to pronounce democracy (audio)
plural democracies
1
a
: government by the people
especially : rule of the majority
b
: government in which the supreme power is held by the people and used by them directly or indirectly through representation
2
: a political unit (as a nation) that has a democratic government
3
: belief in or practice of the idea that all people are socially equal
Etymology

from early French democratie "democracy," from Latin democratia (same meaning), from Greek demokratia "democracy," from dēmos "people, the masses" and -kratia "rule, government," from kratos "strength, power, authority" — related to epidemic

Legal Definition

democracy

noun
de·​moc·​ra·​cy di-ˈmä-krə-sē How to pronounce democracy (audio)
plural democracies
1
a
: government by the people
especially : rule of the majority
b
: a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections
2
: a political unit that has a democratic government
democratic adjective
democratically adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on democracy

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!