kakistocracy
Americannoun
plural
kakistocraciesUsage
What does kakistocracy mean? A kakistocracy is a government in which the worst people are in charge.This obscure word is used in political commentary, especially to call out a government considered corrupt or incompetent.Example: If you don’t vote, you’re basically asking for a kakistocracy, because of course the worst people want to be in power.
Other Word Forms
- kakistocratical adjective
Etymology
Origin of kakistocracy
1820–30; < Greek kákisto ( s ), superlative of kakós bad + -cracy
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The Economist decided upon “kakistocracy” as its 2024 Word of the Year.
From Salon
A kakistocracy has a broad impact on society.
From Salon
Former CIA director John Brennan has called Trump “imbecilic” and “treasonous” and memorably taunted: “Your kakistocracy is collapsing.”
From The Guardian
The former CIA director made headlines tweeting last month that the president’s “kakistocracy” — a reference to government run by the worst, least qualified or most unscrupulous citizens — was “collapsing after its lamentable journey.”
From Washington Times
The word soon found fertile soil in the United States, where in 1838, William Harper, a US senator and defender of slavery, claimed that anarchy was a kind of kakistocracy.
From The Guardian
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
