interregnum

play

noun in·ter·reg·num \ ˌin-tə-ˈreg-nəm \

Definition of interregnum

plural interregnums or interregna play \ˌin-tə-ˈreg-nə\

1 :the time during which a throne is vacant between two successive reigns or regimes

2 :a period during which the normal functions of government or control are suspended

3 :a lapse or pause in a continuous series

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Examples of interregnum in a Sentence

the democratic regime proved to be a short-lived interregnum between dictatorships

Recent Examples of interregnum from the Web

Would not, in fine, a Government depending for its existence beyond a fixed date, on some positive and authentic intervention of the Society itself, be too subject to the casualty and consequences of an actual interregnum?

— charles p. pierce, Esquire, "This Is the Bleakest Moment for America in My Lifetime," 13 Aug. 2017
Noel was the first to leave; for years, Liam and the other members carried on as Beady Eye, in a sort of Britpop interregnum, before dissolving in 2014.

— allison stewart, chicagotribune.com, "Liam Gallagher, still cranky after all these years," 26 July 2017
Sun Zhengcai, who had succeeded Mr Bo in Chongqing following a brief interregnum, was sacked.

— The Economist, "Sun’s outA potential successor to Xi Jinping is purged," 20 July 2017
Set lists from the tour have shown a heavy emphasis on Tones on Tail, the very underrated goth-pop project that filled the mid-80s interregnum between Bauhaus and Love and Rockets.

— monica kendrick, Chicago Reader, "Poptone revisit the work of Bauhaus, Tones on Tail, and Love and Rockets," 29 June 2017
The fifth set of the Federer/Nadal 2017 Australian Open—a 42-minute interregnum—will have consequences on tennis history that will echo for decades.

— jon wertheim, SI.com, "50 parting thoughts from the 2017 French Open," 11 June 2017
The campaign pledge, which continued into the interregnum before the inauguration, to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, has been shelved.

— hussein ibish, The Atlantic, "We Can't Predict Whether Trump Will Succeed in the Middle East," 25 May 2017
Presidents-elect usually lie low during the interregnum.

— charles krauthammer, The Mercury News, "Krauthammer: Why Trump is to blame for lack of honeymoon," 12 Jan. 2017
Presidents-elect usually lie low during the interregnum.

— charles krauthammer, The Denver Post, "What happened to Donald Trump’s honeymoon?," 12 Jan. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'interregnum.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

Every time a pope dies, there's an interregnum period before a new one is elected by the cardinals. In most democratic systems, however, the law specifies who should take office when a president or prime minister dies unexpectedly, and since the power usually passes automatically, there's no true interregnum. The question of succession—that is, of who should take over when a country's leader dies—has often presented huge problems for countries that lacked a constitution, and in monarchies it hasn't always been clear who should become king or queen when a monarch dies. The interregnum following the death of Edward VI in 1553, for instance, was briefly suspended when Lady Jane Grey was installed as Queen; nine days later she was replaced by Mary Tudor, who sent her straight to the Tower of London.