of, relating to, or of the nature of a republic.
favoring a republic.
fitting or appropriate for the citizen of a republic.
a very republican notion.
(initial capital letter) of or relating to the Republican Party.
a person who favors a republican form of government.
(initial capital letter) a member of the Republican Party.
of, resembling, or relating to a republic
supporting or advocating a republic
of, belonging to, or relating to a Republican Party
of, belonging to, or relating to the Irish Republican Army
a member or supporter of a Republican Party
a member or supporter of the Irish Republican Army
First recorded in 1685–95, republican is from the French word républicain, Middle French. See republic, -an
The adjective republican describes a government made up of representatives who are elected by the citizens. If you live in the United States, you’re part of a republican system of government. In a republican government, citizens have a lot of power — their vote determines who is running the government. The word republican has a noun and an adjective form. The noun is for a person who supports that style of government, and the adjective describes something with those characteristics. But if you see republican with a capital letter “r” — Republican — then that refers to a member of the Republican Party.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“I don’t think anybody had a firm bead on what the result was going to be,” Lance Dutson, a Maine Republican strategist who worked on Collins’ 2008, 2014, and 2020 campaigns, told me.
From Slate • Jun. 16, 2026
Republican leaders in the House, Senate and court system did not respond to requests for comment on the bills.
From Salon • Jun. 16, 2026
“None of the optics are good,” complained Roxanne Hoge, chair of the Los Angeles County Republican Party.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 14, 2026
Longwell felt there should be some place on the internet for people like her, those who wanted to push the Republican party in a different direction.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 13, 2026
He’d been appointed to the bench in 1999 by then governor Michael Leavitt, a Republican.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
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.
