Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

anocracy

American  
[uh-nok-ruh-see] / əˈnɒk rə si /

noun

plural

anocracies
  1. government that is a hybrid of democracy and autocracy, often as a transitional phase when one of these forms of government takes on characteristics of the other.

    Political scientists noted significant democratic reforms in the traditionally authoritarian regime’s evolution to anocracy.

  2. a nation or state having such a form of government.

    Freedom of the press is one of the first pillars of democracy threatened in an anocracy’s slide toward totalitarianism.


Other Word Forms

  • anocratic adjective

Etymology

Origin of anocracy

First recorded in 1970–75; an- 1 ( def. ) + -o- ( def. ) + -cracy ( def. )

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.

And what scholars found was that this anocracy variable was really predictive of a risk for civil war.

From Washington Post • Mar. 8, 2022