gerontocracy

American  

[jer-uhn-tok-ruh-see, jeer-] / ˌdʒɛr ənˈtɒk rə si, ˌdʒɪər- /

noun

gerontocracies plural

1. government by a council of elders.

2. a governing body consisting of old people.

3. a state or government in which old people rule.

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gerontocracy British  

/ dʒəˌrɒntəˈkrætɪk, ˌdʒɛrɒnˈtɒkrəsɪ /

noun

1. government by old people

2. a governing body of old people

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gerontocracy Cultural  

1. A society ruled by elders.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• gerontocrat
  noun
• gerontocratic
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• gerontocracies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of gerontocracy

First recorded in 1820–30; geronto- + -cracy

Explanation

A gerontocracy is a society governed by old people. You might see a gerontocracy in a tribe where elders are esteemed for the perspective and wisdom they have acquired. If your grandparents moved into your house and started telling everyone what to do, you might be outraged. Daily Metumucil doses for everyone! No loud music or reading of novels written after the First World War! A good thing then, that we live in a culture that worships youth––we're unlikely to be ruled by a gerontocracy.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

gerontocracy gerontocracies

But it was also hopefully the nadir of its gerontocracy problem.

From Slate ● Nov. 7, 2025

Senate, the gerontocracy remains alive and well — and little commented upon.

From New York Times ● May 17, 2024

Once an obscure word, "gerontocracy," which means a government ruled by people who are significantly older than the adult population, is now increasingly part of Americans' vocabulary.

From BBC ● Nov. 19, 2023

Even within America's gerontocracy, there are figures like Bernie Sanders, Maxine Waters, Barbara Lee and Bill Pascrell who we'd be foolish to cast aside.

From Salon ● Sep. 30, 2023

Their deliberative assembly answers to the senate of later times: if we had to coin a word for such a government of elders we might call it a gerontocracy.

From The Golden Bough by Frazer, James George, Sir

Those aren't gerontocracies as such, since power is distributed in a variety of ways, and the power of elders is usually advisory, not direct or managerial.

From Salon ● Sep. 30, 2023

But many other tribes took a very different approach: they were gerontocracies, in which the young do as the old say.

From BBC ● Jan. 21, 2020

But perhaps most significant is the fact that gerontocracies prevent new ideas from entering into the small elite that makes national policy.

From The Guardian ● Oct. 6, 2018

In the 16 years of Brezhnev's rule the average age of the Politburo has crept forward until it stands this year at 70, thus making the U.S.S.R. one of the oldest gerontocracies in the world.

From Time Magazine Archive