kleptocracy

[ klep-tok-ruh-see ]

noun

, plural klep·toc·ra·cies.

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

kleptocracy

/ ˌklɛpˈtɒkrəsɪ /

noun

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

Other Words From

• klep·to·crat [klep, -t, uh, -krat], noun
• klep·to·crat·ic [klep-t, uh, -, krat, -ik], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of kleptocracy¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of kleptocracy¹

C20: from klepto ( mania ) + -cracy

Example Sentences

Proceeds from its North Sea drilling rigs will insure corruption and kleptocracy on a Nigerian scale.

From The Daily Beast

How about staging large-scale NATO military maneuvers at the border and freezing the assets of the kleptocracy?

From The Daily Beast

Indeed, a condition of rampant, endemic political corruption is known as a “kleptocracy”—literally, “rule by thieves.”

From The Daily Beast

But no political parties are immune to the infection of kleptocracy in Ukraine.

From The Daily Beast

For many dissidents, the video was clear-cut proof that Burma has become a military kleptocracy.

From The Daily Beast