kleptocracy

[ klep-tok-ruh-see ]

/ klɛpˈtɒk rə si /

noun, plural klep·toc·ra·cies.

a government or state in which those in power exploit national resources and steal; rule by a thief or thieves.

Nearby words

Origin of kleptocracy

1815–20; klepto- (combining form of Greek kléptēs thief) + -cracy

Related formsklep·to·crat [klep-tuh-krat] /ˈklɛp təˌkræt/, nounklep·to·crat·ic [klep-tuh-krat-ik] /ˌklɛp təˈkræt ɪk/, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for kleptocracy

Proceeds from its North Sea drilling rigs will insure corruption and kleptocracy on a Nigerian scale.
Up to a Point: A Free Scotland Would Be a Hilarious Disaster|P. J. O’Rourke|September 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
How about staging large-scale NATO military maneuvers at the border and freezing the assets of the kleptocracy?
This Really Is Obama's Moment of Truth|Jonathan Alter|September 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Indeed, a condition of rampant, endemic political corruption is known as a “kleptocracy”—literally, “rule by thieves.”
Ehud Olmert’s Sentencing Won’t Be a Day of Reckoning for Israel’s Leaders|Alon Ben-Meir|May 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But no political parties are immune to the infection of kleptocracy in Ukraine.
Europe, Stunned by Reckless Russia, Mistrusts Feckless Ukrainian Leaders|James Kirchick|March 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST

British Dictionary definitions for kleptocracy

kleptocracy

cleptocracy

/ (ˌklɛpˈtɒkrəsɪ) /

noun plural -cies

informal a government where officials are politically corrupt and financially self-interested

Word Origin for kleptocracy

C20: from klepto (mania) + -cracy

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for kleptocracy

kleptocracy

"rule by a class of thieves," 1819, originally in reference to Spain; see kleptomania + -cracy.