Democratic-Republican
adjective
Dem·o·crat·ic-Re·pub·li·can
ˌde-mə-ˈkra-tik-ri-ˈpə-bli-kən 
in U.S. history
: of or relating to a major early American political party emphasizing states' rights and favoring a strict interpretation of the Constitution to restrict the powers of the federal government
Note: The Democratic-Republican party is the direct antecedent of the current Democratic Party (see democratic sense 1) and was the first opposition (see opposition sense 5b) political party in the U.S. It was organized in 1792 under the name of "the Republican Party," and its members held power nationally between 1801 and 1825.
Democratic-Republican
noun
plural Democratic-Republicans
Examples of Democratic-Republican in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
This sentiment came full circle in 1807, during an internal Democratic-Republican battle to move the Essex County Courthouse from Newark to Elizabethtown.
—
Peter Zablocki, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 July 2025
Opposition to the Alien and Sedition Acts contributed to the defeat of the Federalists in the election of 1800, which was won by Thomas Jefferson, the Democratic-Republican candidate.
—Nicole Brown Chau, CBS News, 26 Mar. 2025
The new law attempted to crack down on critical writings about government officials, and it was aimed at Democratic-Republican newspaper editors in particular.
—Marianne Holdzkom, The Conversation, 12 Mar. 2025
The nation’s period of domestic bliss was practically coterminous with the presidency of James Monroe, a Democratic-Republican whose landslide victory in 1816 accelerated the Federalist Party’s collapse.
—Eli Wizevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Dec. 2024
That scant 3-point difference with Trump matches the average Democratic-Republican gap in the last eight presidential elections, of which Democrats won the popular vote in seven.
—Gary Langer, ABC News, 3 Nov. 2024
The party differences against which Washington warned soon surfaced, and, after a contentious 1800 campaign, Democratic-Republican candidate Thomas Jefferson unseated Adams.
—Carl Leubsdorf, The Mercury News, 25 Oct. 2024
The president’s and Hamilton’s Federalist ideals win out, with Jefferson’s Democratic-Republican leanings pushed aside.
—Tori Latham, Robb Report, 24 Sep. 2024
Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, and their Democratic-Republican and Federalist parties, battled out the idea war of their day in openly partisan gazettes.
—Michael Watson, Baltimore Sun, 26 July 2024
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Peter Zablocki, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 July 2025
Opposition to the Alien and Sedition Acts contributed to the defeat of the Federalists in the election of 1800, which was won by Thomas Jefferson, the Democratic-Republican candidate.
—Nicole Brown Chau, CBS News, 26 Mar. 2025
The new law attempted to crack down on critical writings about government officials, and it was aimed at Democratic-Republican newspaper editors in particular.
—Marianne Holdzkom, The Conversation, 12 Mar. 2025
The nation’s period of domestic bliss was practically coterminous with the presidency of James Monroe, a Democratic-Republican whose landslide victory in 1816 accelerated the Federalist Party’s collapse.
—Eli Wizevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Dec. 2024
That scant 3-point difference with Trump matches the average Democratic-Republican gap in the last eight presidential elections, of which Democrats won the popular vote in seven.
—Gary Langer, ABC News, 3 Nov. 2024
The party differences against which Washington warned soon surfaced, and, after a contentious 1800 campaign, Democratic-Republican candidate Thomas Jefferson unseated Adams.
—Carl Leubsdorf, The Mercury News, 25 Oct. 2024
The president’s and Hamilton’s Federalist ideals win out, with Jefferson’s Democratic-Republican leanings pushed aside.
—Tori Latham, Robb Report, 24 Sep. 2024
Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, and their Democratic-Republican and Federalist parties, battled out the idea war of their day in openly partisan gazettes.
—Michael Watson, Baltimore Sun, 26 July 2024
Cite this Entry
“Democratic-Republican.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Democratic-Republican. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.
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