popular sovereignty
noun
1
: a doctrine in political theory that government is created by and subject to the will of the people
2
: a pre-Civil War doctrine asserting the right of the people living in a newly organized territory to decide by vote of their territorial legislature whether or not slavery would be permitted there
Examples of popular sovereignty in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Without real competition, elections risk going from true exercises in popular sovereignty to a mere administrative formality.
—
Charlie Hunt, Washington Post, 9 Feb. 2026
Without real competition, elections risk going from true exercises in popular sovereignty to a mere administrative formality.
—Charlie Hunt, The Conversation, 6 Feb. 2026
The time has come for popular sovereignty and national sovereignty to prevail in our country.
—Kerry Breen, CBS News, 3 Jan. 2026
Over four days, people from vastly different backgrounds took to the streets to defend the welfare of humanity against the encroachment of corporate power and the loss of popular sovereignty to faceless bureaucrats.
—Vikram Murthi, IndieWire, 5 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for popular sovereignty
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Charlie Hunt, Washington Post, 9 Feb. 2026
Without real competition, elections risk going from true exercises in popular sovereignty to a mere administrative formality.
—Charlie Hunt, The Conversation, 6 Feb. 2026
The time has come for popular sovereignty and national sovereignty to prevail in our country.
—Kerry Breen, CBS News, 3 Jan. 2026
Over four days, people from vastly different backgrounds took to the streets to defend the welfare of humanity against the encroachment of corporate power and the loss of popular sovereignty to faceless bureaucrats.
—Vikram Murthi, IndieWire, 5 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for popular sovereignty
Cite this Entry
“Popular sovereignty.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/popular%20sovereignty. Accessed 28 Feb. 2026.
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