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direct democracy

American

[di-rekt di-mah-kruh-see, dahy-rekt] / dɪˈrɛkt dɪˈmɑ krə si, daɪˈrɛkt /

noun

government with direct rule by the people, without the involvement of elected representatives.

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.

Madison especially thought pure direct democracy would prove unstable, a too-slight skiff heaved about in history’s seas.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 23, 2025

But I ask you, as a former Florida man: Don’t Floridians prize their ability to participate in direct democracy?

From Slate • Oct. 18, 2024

This time they said enough was enough, using the power that Switzerland's system of direct democracy gives them to vote themselves an extra month's pension each year.

From BBC • Mar. 3, 2024

And that's why it's come to overshadow direct democracy in our thinking about democracy.

From Salon • Jul. 22, 2023

Given this difficulty about quite direct democracy over large areas, I think the nearest thing to democracy is despotism.

From What I Saw in America by Chesterton, G. K. (Gilbert Keith)

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023