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
ABC News, 5 Oct. 2025
Instead, Hamas referred only to a part of the proposal that described Gaza’s future governance by a group of Palestinian technocrats.
—Ruth Margalit, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2025
The movement also renews its agreement to hand over the administration of the Gaza Strip to a Palestinian body of independents (technocrats), based on Palestinian national consensus and Arab and Islamic support.
—Jesus Mesa, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025
Still, Putin prefers experienced and talented technocrats for the most responsible positions, such as governors and ministers.
—Andrei Kolesnikov, Foreign Affairs, 8 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for technocrat
Cite this Entry
“Technocrat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/technocrat. Accessed 6 Oct. 2025.
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