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.
a person who favors a republican form of government.
(initial capital letter) a member of the Republican Party.
of, belonging to, or relating to a Republican Party
of, belonging to, or relating to the Irish Republican Army
a member or supporter of a Republican Party
a member or supporter of the Irish Republican Army
of, resembling, or relating to a republic
supporting or advocating a republic
First recorded in 1685–95, republican is from the French word républicain, Middle French. See republic, -an
The adjective republican describes a government made up of representatives who are elected by the citizens. If you live in the United States, you’re part of a republican system of government. In a republican government, citizens have a lot of power — their vote determines who is running the government. The word republican has a noun and an adjective form. The noun is for a person who supports that style of government, and the adjective describes something with those characteristics. But if you see republican with a capital letter “r” — Republican — then that refers to a member of the Republican Party.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Independence required Americans to believe in the risky project of devising a new, republican constitution.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
Without equal citizenship, equal voting rights, and equal opportunity to elect representatives of one’s choice, republican government was an impossibility.
From Slate ● Jun. 3, 2026
Police previously said they believed the attack may have been carried out by the dissident republican group known as the New IRA.
From BBC ● May 9, 2026
The Irish republican party is also the largest at Stormont and at local council level.
From BBC ● Apr. 24, 2026
In most European states, he went on to argue, it was probably necessary for the monarchy to remain hereditary for the foreseeable future, in order to permit a more gradual transition to full-blown republican principles.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
When elected, Riordan became the first Republican mayor of Los Angeles in 36 years — and no Republican has been elected to that office since.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
That means he’s donated to a range that spans from Republican Gov. George Pataki to Sens. Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer, and once, even, the ultraprogressive Working Families Party.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026
For months, both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have been calling on Hegseth to offer more information about the war, including its costs and strategy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
The 80-year-old Republican has previously played down any suggestion of problems with the new aircraft.
From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026
In 1886, the Republican Party urged him to run for mayor of New York, calling him the “Cowboy Candidate.”
From "Death on the River of Doubt" by Samantha Seiple
That leaves many Irish republicans in an unexpected position.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 13, 2026
The barrister also asked Mr Adams about meetings with UK government representatives which he had attended with other senior republicans in 1972 in an effort to negotiate an agreement following an IRA truce.
From BBC ● May 2, 2025
Militant Irish republicans had been paying close attention to Carson’s tactics — which anticipated Mao Zedong’s maxim about the source of political power — and would eagerly emulate his example in the years ahead.
From Salon ● Oct. 19, 2024
The details were later obtained by dissident republicans.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2024
Whatever may have been his sympathies for the republicans, in his opinion France was not ready for a complete change in her system of government.
From Thomas Jefferson The Apostle of Americanism by Chinard, Gilbert
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.
