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definitions

republican

[ri-puhb-li-kuh n]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR republican ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

of, relating to, or of the nature of a republic.
favoring a republic.
fitting or appropriate for the citizen of a republic: a very republican notion.
(initial capital letter) of or relating to the Republican Party.

noun

a person who favors a republican form of government.
(initial capital letter) a member of the Republican Party.

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RELATED WORDS

lawmaker, senator, leader, legislator, officeholder, partisan, boss, speaker, orator, president, chieftain, grandstander, democrat, congressperson, handshaker

Origin of republican

First recorded in 1685–95, republican is from the French word républicain, Middle French. See republic, -an
Related formsan·ti·re·pub·li·can, adjective, nounhalf-re·pub·li·can, adjectivenon·re·pub·li·can, adjective, nounpre·re·pub·li·can, adjectivepro·re·pub·li·can, adjective, nounpseu·do·re·pub·li·can, adjectivesem·i·re·pub·li·can, adjective, nounun·re·pub·li·can, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for republican

Contemporary Examples of republican

Historical Examples of republican

  • He was a Republican, and a much more advanced Republican than Thiers.

    My Double Life

    Sarah Bernhardt

  • He may be a Republican, and he must uphold with warmth and conviction Royalist theories.

    My Double Life

    Sarah Bernhardt

  • I was already a republican and a freethinker in the days of the Empire.

  • He next glided into the Free Soil party, and from that to the Republican.

  • In politics, Mr. Palmer has been a member of the Republican party since its organization.

British Dictionary definitions for republican

republican

adjective

of, resembling, or relating to a republic
supporting or advocating a republic

noun

a supporter or advocate of a republic

Republican

adjective

of, belonging to, or relating to a Republican Party
of, belonging to, or relating to the Irish Republican Army

noun

a member or supporter of a Republican Party
a member or supporter of the Irish Republican Army
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 republican
adj.

1712, "belonging to a republic, of the nature of a republic, consonant to the principles of a republic," from republic + -an. The French republican calendar was in use from Nov. 26, 1793 to Dec. 31, 1805.

n.

"one who favors a republic or republican principles" (or, as Johnson puts it, "One who thinks a commonwealth without monarchy the best government"), 1690s; see from republican (adj.). With capital R-, in reference to a member of a specific U.S. political party (the Anti-Federalists) from 1782, though this was not the ancestor of the modern U.S. Republican Party, which dates from 1854.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Culture definitions for republican

Republican

A member of the Republican party.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.