theocratic

adjective

theo·​crat·​ic ˌthē-ə-ˈkra-tik How to pronounce theocratic (audio)
variants or less commonly theocratical
: of, relating to, or being a theocracy
theocratically adverb

Examples of theocratic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Afterward, the northern Sayyids were scorned as relics of a benighted theocratic era, and many fell into poverty. Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 5 Mar. 2024 An opposition boycott and widespread disenchantment set the mood, even as the theocratic regime pushed its citizens to come out to the polls. Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 3 Mar. 2024 Polls show that, if an election were held now, his theocratic coalition would lose badly—by as many as thirty seats in the hundred-and-twenty-seat Knesset—to a coalition of secular centrists led by the former chiefs of staff Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot, who joined the war cabinet in October. Bernard Avishai, The New Yorker, 2 Mar. 2024 In the years leading up to the attack, the country was fractured by Netanyahu’s effort to undermine its democratic institutions and turn it into a theocratic, nationalist autocracy. Aluf Benn, Foreign Affairs, 7 Feb. 2024 The powerful paramilitary institution within the theocratic state had to respond. Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 19 Jan. 2024 It's built on preservation of a theocratic region, number one, above all others. CBS News, 4 Feb. 2024 Moreover, to live in the legal structures that incubate theocratic ideas, all their leaders have to do is continue to obstruct change. Jordan Castro, Harper's Magazine, 9 Jan. 2024 The group’s goal, according to its founding documents, is to destroy Israel, exterminate Jews, and establish a theocratic state. Jessica Stern, Foreign Affairs, 7 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'theocratic.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1690, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of theocratic was in 1690

Dictionary Entries Near theocratic

Cite this Entry

“Theocratic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/theocratic. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

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