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republic
[ri-puhb-lik]
noun
a state in which the supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by representatives chosen directly or indirectly by them.
any body of persons viewed as a commonwealth.
a state in which the head of government is not a monarch or other hereditary head of state.
(initial capital letter), any of the five periods of republican government in France.
(initial capital letter, italics), a philosophical dialogue (4th century b.c.) by Plato dealing with the composition and structure of the ideal state.
republic
/ rɪˈpʌblɪk /
noun
a form of government in which the people or their elected representatives possess the supreme power
a political or national unit possessing such a form of government
a constitutional form in which the head of state is an elected or nominated president
any community or group that resembles a political republic in that its members or elements exhibit a general equality, shared interests, etc
the republic of letters
republic
A form of government in which power is explicitly vested in the people, who in turn exercise their power through elected representatives. Today, the terms republic and democracy are virtually interchangeable, but historically the two differed. Democracy implied direct rule by the people, all of whom were equal, whereas republic implied a system of government in which the will of the people was mediated by representatives, who might be wiser and better educated than the average person. In the early American republic, for example, the requirement that voters own property and the establishment of institutions such as the Electoral College were intended to cushion the government from the direct expression of the popular will.
Other Word Forms
- semirepublic noun
Word History and Origins
Origin of republic1
Word History and Origins
Origin of republic1
Example Sentences
The ex-Soviet republic bordering Russia has been mired in political crisis since last October, when Georgian Dream claimed victory in parliamentary elections that the opposition decried as stolen.
Leaning heavily on Jeffersonian rhetoric, the Browns called on the “oppressed” populace to rise and assert “their natural rights” as “citizens of a free republic.”
Former Soviet republics in Central Asia are displaying less fealty to Moscow, choosing to draw alliances instead with China and the European Union.
A republic too given to democracy, they thought, would allow big personalities to leverage the public’s irascibility against established order.
Another French tourist, Olivier Grondeau, 34, was released by Iran earlier this year after being handed a five-year prison sentence for "conspiracy against the Islamic republic".
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