kleptocracy

[ klep-tok-ruh-see ]

/ klɛpˈtɒk rə si /

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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.

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Origin of kleptocracy

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

OTHER WORDS FROM kleptocracy

klep·to·crat

[klep-tuh-krat], /ˈklɛp təˌkræt/, nounklep·to·crat·ic

[klep-tuh-krat-ik], /ˌklɛp təˈkræt ɪk/, adjective

Words nearby kleptocracy

Kleist, Klemperer, Kleopatra, klepht, klepto, kleptocracy, kleptocrat, kleptocratic, kleptomania, kleptomaniac, klesha

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use kleptocracy in a sentence

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

For many dissidents, the video was clear-cut proof that Burma has become a military kleptocracy.
The Lady in Danger|Philip Shenon|November 16, 2010|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