1
as in monarchy
a system of government in which a religious body holds unlimited power
Under a theocracy, an entire nation officially follows one religion.
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in democracy
a group of people who live in a territory ruled by a religious body
The country was a theocracy governed by religious leaders.
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of theocracy
Although there is nothing uncommon about autocrats passing power to their children, Iran is a Shiite theocracy, and traditional Shiite philosophy strongly condemns hereditary rule.
—
Akbar Ganji, Foreign Affairs, 13 Feb. 2025
Later in April, Iranians voted to become an Islamic Republic, a Shiite theocracy with Khomeini as the country’s first supreme leader.
—Nasser Karimi, Chicago Tribune, 10 Feb. 2025
Azerbaijan, a majority Shia Muslim but staunchly secular country bordering Iran, has long clashed with the ayatollahs’ theocracy in Tehran.
—Wesley Alexander Hill, Forbes, 23 Jan. 2025
Iran's theocracy views Radio Farda as a hostile outlet.
—Chris Pandolfo, Fox News, 3 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for theocracy
Akbar Ganji, Foreign Affairs, 13 Feb. 2025
Later in April, Iranians voted to become an Islamic Republic, a Shiite theocracy with Khomeini as the country’s first supreme leader.
—Nasser Karimi, Chicago Tribune, 10 Feb. 2025
Azerbaijan, a majority Shia Muslim but staunchly secular country bordering Iran, has long clashed with the ayatollahs’ theocracy in Tehran.
—Wesley Alexander Hill, Forbes, 23 Jan. 2025
Iran's theocracy views Radio Farda as a hostile outlet.
—Chris Pandolfo, Fox News, 3 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for theocracy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for theocracy
Noun
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During the Benjamin Harrison presidency, from 1889 to 1893, a U.S. diplomat to the islands joined forces with a U.S. naval captain to force upon the royal family a new Hawaiian constitution (quickly labeled the Bayonet Constitution) that favored the islands’ white establishment over the monarchy.—
Robert W. Merry,
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government,
7 Mar. 2025
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Yet the overriding goal of the framers at the Constitutional Convention was to avoid creating an American version of the British monarchy, with a single, unaccountable ruler in charge of national policymaking, free to implement his vision at will.—
Claire B. Wofford,
The Conversation,
25 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Accepting the results with a composed yet sobering tone, Shyne acknowledged the democracy.—
Amber Corrine,
VIBE.com,
13 Mar. 2025
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Among other behaviors, critical and independent thinkers are active citizens in their democracies.—
Eli Amdur,
Forbes,
13 Mar. 2025
Noun
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But a slave mentality remains deeply ingrained in Russian minds, along with a latent monarchism and paternalism.—
Nikita Petrov,
Foreign Affairs,
12 Dec. 2017
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But for anyone outside the British elite, the constitutional monarchism that emerged after the civil wars did not look much like democracy or true liberty.—
Andrew Cockburn,
Harper's Magazine,
20 Aug. 2024
Noun
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In a kingdom where beauty is a brutal business, Elvira will compete with the beautiful and enchanting Agnes to become the belle of the ball.—
Elsa Keslassy,
Variety,
13 Mar. 2025
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By 1953, as decolonization swept the world, the Danish government, loath to give up ninety-eight per cent of its landmass, made Greenland a semi-autonomous part of its kingdom but retained de-facto control.—
Louise Bokkenheuser,
The New Yorker,
11 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Russia is our enemy and will be for at least as long as Putin's dictatorship endures (and the Russian people continue to succumb to nostalgia for great power status and empire).—
Bradley Gitz,
arkansasonline.com,
17 Mar. 2025
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Founded in 1998, the station is owned by journalist Marcus Garcia, another renowned Haitian journalist and columnist who led the struggle for press freedoms against the Duvalier dictatorship in the 1980s.—
Jacqueline Charles,
Miami Herald,
16 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Take, for example, Trump’s mid-speech listing of the ages of people that the Social Security Administration believes to still be alive, including some seemingly as old as the republic itself.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
6 Mar. 2025
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Since information is power, concentrating unprecedented data in the hands of a private entity with an explicit political agenda represents a profound challenge to the republic.—
Allison Stanger,
The Conversation,
6 Mar. 2025
Articles Related to theocracy
Cite this Entry
“Theocracy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/theocracy. Accessed 20 Mar. 2025.
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