democracy

[dih-mok-ruh-see]

noun

plural

democracies 

1. government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.

2. a state having such a form of government.

   The United States and Canada are democracies.

3. a state of society characterized by formal equality of rights and privileges.

4. political or social equality; democratic spirit.

5. the common people of a community as distinguished from any privileged class; the common people with respect to their political power.

democracy

/ dɪˈmɒkrəsɪ /

noun

1. government by the people or their elected representatives

2. a political or social unit governed ultimately by all its members

3. the practice or spirit of social equality

4. a social condition of classlessness and equality

5. the common people, esp as a political force

democracy

1. A system of government in which power is vested in the people, who rule either directly or through freely elected representatives.

Democratic institutions, such as parliaments, may exist in a monarchy. Such constitutional monarchies as Britain, Canada, and Sweden are generally counted as democracies in practice.

Other Word Forms

• antidemocracy noun
• nondemocracy noun
• predemocracy noun
• prodemocracy adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of democracy¹

First recorded in 1525–35; from Middle French démocratie, from Late Latin dēmocratia, from Greek dēmokratía “popular government,” equivalent to dēmo- demo- + -kratia -cracy

Word History and Origins

Origin of democracy¹

C16: from French démocratie, from Late Latin dēmocratia, from Greek dēmokratia government by the people; see _demo- , _-cracy

Example Sentences

During the following decades, exhibitions often revealed a tug-of-war between opposing sensibilities—fissures perhaps unavoidable in a contentious democracy’s national museums—but in this century, a particular ideological bent has become dominant.

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Sen. Joseph McCarthy cited them, praising “one of our outstanding historical figures” for warning that the destruction of democracy would come from “enemies from within”—by which, of course, he meant communists.

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“The health of our democracy depends on the freedom to work with the federal government without having to follow the ideological dictates of those in power.”

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He has it backward: Such efforts strengthen shareholder democracy by giving individual investors a voice against activists and institutional investors.

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He traveled to the U.S. and to other Western democracies that past International Department chiefs seldom visited.

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Related Words

• equality 
• freedom 
• justice 

When To Use

What is democracy?

Democracy is a system of government where the citizens of a state exercise power to rule the state, either directly or through electing representatives.