Definition of republicnext
as in democracy
government in which the supreme power is held by the people and used by them directly or indirectly through representation 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"

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of republic As the years progressed, Turner created the Nuclear Threat Initiative to secure loose nuclear weapons in the former Soviet republics and elsewhere. David Folkenflik, NPR, 6 May 2026 South Carolina followed in March, establishing itself as a republic. Jill Lepore, New Yorker, 4 May 2026 Our economic systems are not serving the people who live here, whose forefathers established this new republic, and our grandparents actualized the peak of its success. Linh Tat, Oc Register, 4 May 2026 But England’s fragile new republic did not hold. Aidan McLaughlin, Vanity Fair, 30 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for republic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for republic
democracy
Noun
  • As a national icon, the Natural Bridge served as a quiet, Emersonian rebuke to Europe’s militaristic triumphal arches, reinforcing the naturalness of American democracy.
    Sebastian Smee, New Yorker, 4 May 2026
  • But there was a special pathos about the tributes published around the world after his death, which seemed to symbolize the tragic condition of democracy itself.
    Adam Kirsch, The Atlantic, 3 May 2026

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“Republic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/republic. Accessed 9 May. 2026.

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