democracy

American  

[dih-mok-ruh-see] / dɪˈmɒk rə si /

noun

plural

democracies

1. government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.

2. a state having such a form of government.

   The United States and Canada are democracies.

3. a state of society characterized by formal equality of rights and privileges.

4. political or social equality; democratic spirit.

5. the common people of a community as distinguished from any privileged class; the common people with respect to their political power.

---

democracy British  

/ dɪˈmɒkrəsɪ /

noun

1. government by the people or their elected representatives

2. a political or social unit governed ultimately by all its members

3. the practice or spirit of social equality

4. a social condition of classlessness and equality

5. the common people, esp as a political force

---

democracy Cultural  

1. A system of government in which power is vested in the people, who rule either directly or through freely elected representatives.

---

Usage

What is democracy? Democracy is a system of government where the citizens of a state exercise power to rule the state, either directly or through electing representatives.

Discover More

Democratic institutions, such as parliaments, may exist in a monarchy. Such constitutional monarchies as Britain, Canada, and Sweden are generally counted as democracies in practice.

Other Word Forms

• antidemocracy noun
• nondemocracy noun
• predemocracy noun
• prodemocracy adjective

Etymology

Origin of democracy

First recorded in 1525–35; from Middle French démocratie, from Late Latin dēmocratia, from Greek dēmokratía “popular government,” equivalent to dēmo- demo- + -kratia -cracy

Example Sentences

The first, represented by the court’s decision, is the remnant of a constitutional democracy in which rules still matter.

From Salon

To recommit to ideals that have made a strong liberal arts education foundational to American democracy: critical thinking, dialogue, pluralism, the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.

From The Wall Street Journal

There is a temptation to gloat, laugh at and mock them, but that may be a trap which further imperil American democracy.

From Salon

"It's not entirely appropriate to think that someone who worked for the previous regime 40 years ago... represents a real danger for Czech democracy," he said.

From Barron's

Few Western democracies that traditionally ally with the United States have joined.

From Barron's

Related Words

• equality
• freedom
• justice