republic

[ri-puhb-lik]

noun

1. a state in which the supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by representatives chosen directly or indirectly by them.

2. any body of persons viewed as a commonwealth.

3. a state in which the head of government is not a monarch or other hereditary head of state.

4. (initial capital letter),  any of the five periods of republican government in France.

5. (initial capital letter, italics),  a philosophical dialogue (4th century b.c.) by Plato dealing with the composition and structure of the ideal state.

republic

/ rɪˈpʌblɪk /

noun

1. a form of government in which the people or their elected representatives possess the supreme power

2. a political or national unit possessing such a form of government

3. a constitutional form in which the head of state is an elected or nominated president

4. any community or group that resembles a political republic in that its members or elements exhibit a general equality, shared interests, etc

   the republic of letters

republic

1. A form of government in which power is explicitly vested in the people, who in turn exercise their power through elected representatives. Today, the terms republic and democracy are virtually interchangeable, but historically the two differed. Democracy implied direct rule by the people, all of whom were equal, whereas republic implied a system of government in which the will of the people was mediated by representatives, who might be wiser and better educated than the average person. In the early American republic, for example, the requirement that voters own property and the establishment of institutions such as the Electoral College were intended to cushion the government from the direct expression of the popular will.

Other Word Forms

• semirepublic noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of republic¹

First recorded in 1595–1605; from French république, Middle French, from Latin rēs pūblica, equivalent to rēs “thing, entity” ( rebus ( def. ) ) + pūblica public

Word History and Origins

Origin of republic¹

C17: from French république , from Latin rēspublica literally: the public thing, from rēs thing + publica _public

Example Sentences

If the fantasy or the fact of getting away with murder is allowed to become the measure of political power in this country, it will mark the death of America’s constitutional republic.

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Today’s Iraq is far from the democratic republic we hoped it would become, but neither is it a threat to its neighbors and the world.

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In addition to its European and US allies, the Ukrainian president said he was working "actively" with Azerbaijan and hopes to conclude "long-term contracts" for gas imports from the former Soviet republic.

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Women's professional and cultural lives are still heavily restricted in the conservative Islamic republic, particularly in terms of public performance before mixed-gender audiences.

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Located between Russia and China, the vast former Soviet republic rich in natural resources, is trying to balance between its superpower neighbours and the West.

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