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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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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Recent Examples of theocracy
Any sense that history trends in a general direction—toward freedom, perhaps, or toward rights, markets, secularism, or science—is confounded by a large, prosperous country becoming a hard-line semi-theocracy.
—
Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2025
More broadly, Iranian American artists yearn for a future when Iran isn’t automatically conflated in American popular culture with theocracy, militancy and radicalism.
—Dan Bilefsky, HollywoodReporter, 25 July 2025
King’s Chapel was established in 1683 as the first Anglican church in New England, which was settled starting in 1620 by dissenters who wanted a theocracy and religion shorn of folderol, cant, and the stink of popes and kings.
—Brian T. Allen, National Review, 19 July 2025
That sowed the seeds of 1979’s Islamic Revolution — and with it the anti-Western, repressive theocracy of Iran today.
—Alexander Smith, NBC news, 18 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for theocracy
Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2025
More broadly, Iranian American artists yearn for a future when Iran isn’t automatically conflated in American popular culture with theocracy, militancy and radicalism.
—Dan Bilefsky, HollywoodReporter, 25 July 2025
King’s Chapel was established in 1683 as the first Anglican church in New England, which was settled starting in 1620 by dissenters who wanted a theocracy and religion shorn of folderol, cant, and the stink of popes and kings.
—Brian T. Allen, National Review, 19 July 2025
That sowed the seeds of 1979’s Islamic Revolution — and with it the anti-Western, repressive theocracy of Iran today.
—Alexander Smith, NBC news, 18 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for theocracy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for theocracy
Noun
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The estimate shows that the family private-equity fund has added another $320 million, most of it from managing money contributed to oil-rich Persian Gulf monarchies, including Qatar.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Sep. 2025
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For three centuries, Denmark has been the sovereign power here, a tiny European monarchy still reigning over Greenland’s 57,000 people, as well as its vast swathes of harsh and resource-rich terrain.—
Matthew Chance,
CNN Money,
16 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Europe’s fundamental values are prosperity, equity, freedom, peace and democracy in a sustainable environment.—
David Doty,
Forbes.com,
14 Sep. 2025
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On the other end of the spectrum, Peru is widely seen as having extremely weak institutions and is ranked 78th in The Economist’s democracy index.—
Sofía Benavides,
CNN Money,
14 Sep. 2025
Noun
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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
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And the Decemberists tried to overthrow the Tsar and insist on having some of the more basic aspects of representative constitutional monarchism introduced into Russia.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
7 Dec. 2022
Noun
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But Danish colonial authority – now focused mainly on foreign, defense and economic policy – is facing an unprecedented challenge, and the Scandinavian kingdom is at pains to underline and maintain its military control.—
Matthew Chance,
CNN Money,
16 Sep. 2025
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Thumbs-up, hearts, comments and views are the currency of his kingdom.—
Óscar Martínez & Carlos Martínez,
The Dial,
16 Sep. 2025
Noun
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In 1979, when Chile was under the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet, 19-year-old Soto gave birth to the twin girls in the coastal town of Hualpén in Biobío province.—
Rafael Romo,
CNN Money,
16 Sep. 2025
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The police and the prosecutor’s office, faithful tools of the dictatorship, captured 13 businessmen in just a few hours, including two who had come to negotiate at Casa Presidencial.—
Óscar Martínez & Carlos Martínez,
The Dial,
16 Sep. 2025
Noun
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If which of the two parties — which agree on about 80 percent of things — controls Congress is the question on which the future of the republic hangs, then the republic has no future.—
Chris Stirewalt,
The Hill,
12 Sep. 2025
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In the early republic, even homicide could be absorbed into politics when cloaked in ritual.—
Maurizio Valsania,
The Conversation,
12 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Theocracy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/theocracy. Accessed 21 Sep. 2025.
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