republic

noun

re·pub·lic | \ ri-ˈpə-blik

Essential Meaning of republic

: a country that is governed by elected representatives and by an elected leader (such as a president) rather than by a king or queen an independent republic an eastern European republic

Full Definition of republic

1a(1) : a government having a chief of state who is not a monarch and who in modern times is usually a president

(2) : a political unit (such as a nation) having such a form of government

b(1) : a government in which supreme power resides in a body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by elected officers and representatives responsible to them and governing according to law

(2) : a political unit (such as a nation) having such a form of government

c : a usually specified republican government of a political unit the French Fourth Republic

2 : a body of persons freely engaged in a specified activity the republic of letters

3 : a constituent political and territorial unit of the former nations of Czechoslovakia, the U.S.S.R., or Yugoslavia

Synonyms Is the United States a democracy or a republic? More Example Sentences Learn More About republic

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Is the United States a democracy or a republic?

One of the most commonly encountered questions about the word democracy has nothing to do with its spelling or pronunciation, and isn’t even directly related to the meaning of the word itself. That question is “is the United States a democracy or a republic?” The answer to this, as with so many other questions about meaning, may be phrased as some form of “it depends.”

Some people assert that a country calling itself a democracy must be engaged in direct (or pure) democracy, in which the people of a state or region vote directly for policies, rather than elect representatives who make choices on their behalf. People who follow this line of reasoning hold that the United States is more properly described as a republic, using the following definition of that word: "a government in which supreme power resides in a body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by elected officers and representatives responsible to them and governing according to law."

However, both democracy and republic have more than a single meaning, and one of the definitions we provide for democracy closely resembles the definition of republic given above: "a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections."

So if someone asks you if the United States is a democracy or a republic, you may safely answer the question with either “both” or “it depends.”

Examples of republic in a Sentence

when asked by a passerby what sort of government the constitutional convention had formulated for the new nation, Benjamin Franklin memorably replied, “A republic, if you can keep it”

Recent Examples on the Web Once Texas became a republic, the dependence on slavery as an institution was perpetuated. — Mariana Rivas, Dallas News, 9 Sep. 2021 An orderly procession of tanks moved north across the Friendship Bridge, which spans the Amu Darya river, between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan—then a Soviet republic. — Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker, 1 Sep. 2021 In a fatal display of unjustified overconfidence, however, the coup leaders didn’t arrest Boris Yeltsin, president of the Russian Federation, then a constituent republic of the Soviet Union. — David Satter, WSJ, 18 Aug. 2021 In 1931, after both the military dictator Primo de Rivera and Spanish king Alfonso XIII were forced into exile, Spain became a republic. — Sam Harrison, Smithsonian Magazine, 19 July 2021 He was named a major in 1954 during the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, the French defeat that ended the war and led to the Geneva accords that cut Vietnam into a communist north and a southern republic. — BostonGlobe.com, 4 July 2021 He was named a major in 1954 during the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, the French defeat that ended the war and led to the Geneva accords that cut Vietnam into a Communist north and a southern republic. — New York Times, 2 July 2021 They were welcomed as equal citizens of a self-governing republic. — Joseph Loconte, National Review, 30 May 2021 Some conservatives insist on viewing Chopra as a progressive hell-bent on turning America into a socialist republic. — Los Angeles Times, 21 May 2021

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

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Dictionary Entries Near republic

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Last Updated

30 Sep 2021

Cite this Entry

“Republic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/republic. Accessed 30 Sep. 2021.

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More Definitions for republic

republic

noun

re·pub·lic | \ ri-ˈpə-blik

Kids Definition of republic

: a country with elected representatives and an elected chief of state who is not a monarch and who is usually a president

republic

noun

re·pub·lic

Legal Definition of republic

1 : a government having a chief of state who is not a monarch and who in modern times is usually a president also : a political unit (as a nation) having such a form of government

2 : a government in which supreme power resides in a body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by elected officers and representatives responsible to them and governing according to law also : a political unit (as a nation) having such a form of government