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republican

[ri-puhb-li-kuh n]
See more synonyms for republican on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. of, relating to, or of the nature of a republic.
  2. favoring a republic.
  3. fitting or appropriate for the citizen of a republic: a very republican notion.
  4. (initial capital letter) of or relating to the Republican Party.
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noun
  1. a person who favors a republican form of government.
  2. (initial capital letter) a member of the Republican Party.
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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. 2018

Examples from the Web for republican

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • 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
  1. of, resembling, or relating to a republic
  2. supporting or advocating a republic
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noun
  1. a supporter or advocate of a republic
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Republican

adjective
  1. of, belonging to, or relating to a Republican Party
  2. of, belonging to, or relating to the Irish Republican Army
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noun
  1. a member or supporter of a Republican Party
  2. a member or supporter of the Irish Republican Army
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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.

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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.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
republican in Culture

Republican

A member of the Republican party.

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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.