pure democracy
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of pure democracy
First recorded in 1905–10
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.
I agree with the thought that there’s no pure democracy.
From Slate • Jun. 19, 2019
Algernon Sidney, an English republican beheaded for expressing treasonous views in 1683, denied being a proponent of pure democracy.
From The Guardian • Oct. 11, 2018
Alexander Hamilton, in a speech to New York’s constitutional ratifying convention, said that pure democracy “never possessed one feature of good government.”
From Washington Post • Sep. 7, 2018
Jefferson and Hamilton, and the other Founding Fathers, were concerned about pure democracy.
From New York Times • Nov. 6, 2017
Dickens knew no history, but he had all history behind him in feeling that a pure democracy does tend, when it goes wrong, to be too traditional and absolute.
From Appreciations and Criticisms of the Works of Charles Dickens 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
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
