as in monarchy
a system of government in which there is only one ruler whose power is unlimited
In the past, monarchism was the world's most common system of government.
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Recent Examples of monarchism
But for anyone outside the British elite, the constitutional monarchism that emerged after the civil wars did not look much like democracy or true liberty.
—
Andrew Cockburn,
Harper's Magazine,
20 Aug. 2024
And the Decemberists tried to overthrow the Tsar and insist on having some of the more basic aspects of representative constitutional monarchism introduced into Russia.
—
CBS News,
7 Dec. 2022
King Charles can take strength from the inherent monarchism of the British people, which grew even stronger in the last two decades of Elizabeth’s reign.
—
Tunku Varadarajan,
WSJ,
11 Sep. 2022
Yet, paradoxically, the regular waves of anti-monarchism were held at bay largely by the sheer, irrefutable fact of her continued existence.
—
Vulture,
8 Sep. 2022
For in the dozen or so countries that make up South-East Asia, liberal democracy has long struggled in the face of authoritarianism, bolstered by monarchism, nationalism and ethnic chauvinism.
—
The Economist,
24 May 2018
But a slave mentality remains deeply ingrained in Russian minds, along with a latent monarchism and paternalism.
—
Nikita Petrov,
Foreign Affairs,
12 Dec. 2017
Andrew Cockburn,
Harper's Magazine,
20 Aug. 2024
And the Decemberists tried to overthrow the Tsar and insist on having some of the more basic aspects of representative constitutional monarchism introduced into Russia.
—
CBS News,
7 Dec. 2022
King Charles can take strength from the inherent monarchism of the British people, which grew even stronger in the last two decades of Elizabeth’s reign.
—
Tunku Varadarajan,
WSJ,
11 Sep. 2022
Yet, paradoxically, the regular waves of anti-monarchism were held at bay largely by the sheer, irrefutable fact of her continued existence.
—
Vulture,
8 Sep. 2022
For in the dozen or so countries that make up South-East Asia, liberal democracy has long struggled in the face of authoritarianism, bolstered by monarchism, nationalism and ethnic chauvinism.
—
The Economist,
24 May 2018
But a slave mentality remains deeply ingrained in Russian minds, along with a latent monarchism and paternalism.
—
Nikita Petrov,
Foreign Affairs,
12 Dec. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for monarchism
Noun
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Against the odds, our founders defeated a monarchy and created what would become the richest, freest, and most powerful country the world has ever seen.
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The royals use the Palace of the Holyroodhouse, the monarchy's official residence in Edinburgh, as their base of operations during this time, and the celebrations always start with the monarch symbolically receiving the keys to the city.
Noun
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In its vision of a desolate America ruled by tyranny and militia, the United States becomes, in the eyes of those who live in its pre-industrial ruins, an idealized symbol of better times.
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Reading words in legal texts divorced from fundamental moral values will not save us from tyranny.
Noun
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His story stretches beyond sports, touching one of Haiti’s many mysteries of Haiti’s brutal Duvalier dictatorship and reflecting on the outsize role Haitians have long played in shaping American history.
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Virtually all contemporary dictatorships are cosplay democracies with term limits, elections, and legislatures—the few ruling, as Amos Perlmutter put it, in the name of the many.
Cite this Entry
“Monarchism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/monarchism. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
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