technocrat
noun
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In 1919 W. H. Smyth coined the term technocracy to mean basically "management of society by technical experts". Technocracy grew into a movement during the Great Depression of the 1930s, when politicians and financial institutions were being blamed for the economic disaster, and fans of technocracy claimed that letting technical experts manage the country would be a great improvement. (They also suggested that dollars could be replaced by "energy certificates" representing energy units called ergs.) Today technocrat and technocratic are still popular words for experts with a highly rational and scientific approach to public policy issues. But these experts aren't always the best politicians, and when a terrific technological solution to a problem is opposed by a powerful group or industry, lawmakers find it easier to just ignore it.
Examples of technocrat in a Sentence
Karim Sadjadpour, The Atlantic, 10 Jan. 2026
There is also a chance that Rodriguez, a cunning politician who has presented herself as a technocrat who has revived the Venezuelan oil industry, would not play along or that her grip on power does not hold.
—Claire Heddles, Miami Herald, 5 Jan. 2026
Despite being a longtime socialist, Rodríguez also had a reputation as a technocrat and turned to market-friendly reforms to try to pull the economy out of its tailspin.
—Jason Ma, Fortune, 4 Jan. 2026
The meeting also featured Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, a technocrat credited with much of Russia’s success on the battlefield this year.
—Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 17 Dec. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Technocrat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/technocrat. Accessed 17 Jan. 2026.
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