1
as in monarchy
a system of government in which a religious body holds unlimited power
Under a theocracy, an entire nation officially follows one religion.
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2
as in democracy
a group of people who live in a territory ruled by a religious body
The country was a theocracy governed by religious leaders.
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of theocracy
This speaks to the potential that Iran owes to its heritage, but that has been smothered by a small, inward looking and harsh theocracy, aided and abetted by the Revolutionary Guard who exert de facto control over the Iranian economy as well as other sectors.
—
Mike O'Sullivan, Forbes.com, 20 June 2025
The Israel Defense Forces strikes took out Gen. Hossein Salami, the leader of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), inflicting a significant blow to Tehran's governing theocracy.
—Michael Dorgan, FOXNews.com, 13 June 2025
This unprecedented international consensus backs an Iranian vision that rejects both monarchy and theocracy.
—Kazem Kazerounian, Hartford Courant, 29 May 2025
Iran launched a second round of missiles against Israel while Israel's military kept up attacks in Iran following earlier strikes that targeted nuclear and military sites and killed key leaders in the country's governing theocracy.
—Arkansas Online, 14 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for theocracy
Mike O'Sullivan, Forbes.com, 20 June 2025
The Israel Defense Forces strikes took out Gen. Hossein Salami, the leader of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), inflicting a significant blow to Tehran's governing theocracy.
—Michael Dorgan, FOXNews.com, 13 June 2025
This unprecedented international consensus backs an Iranian vision that rejects both monarchy and theocracy.
—Kazem Kazerounian, Hartford Courant, 29 May 2025
Iran launched a second round of missiles against Israel while Israel's military kept up attacks in Iran following earlier strikes that targeted nuclear and military sites and killed key leaders in the country's governing theocracy.
—Arkansas Online, 14 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for theocracy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for theocracy
Noun
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In the 1970s, Iran thrived as a modernizing, pro-Western monarchy with the capital, Tehran, a cosmopolitan hub.—
Sharyl Attkisson,
Baltimore Sun,
27 June 2025
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Pakistan was among the earliest countries to establish new diplomatic ties with Iran following its 1979 Islamic Revolution that ousted pro-Western monarchy and put in place the country's current theocratic system.—
Tom O'Connor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 June 2025
Noun
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Your bombastic attacks on the free press are, at best, unflattering — and at worst, undermine a core tenet of democracy.—
Letters to the Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
29 June 2025
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Mamdani has all but clinched the nomination after Cuomo conceded the race this week, and because of his Democratic Socialist label and controversial proposals, billionaires have rushed to paint the young politician as a threat to business, democracy, and the Democratic Party.—
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez,
Fortune,
28 June 2025
Noun
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But a slave mentality remains deeply ingrained in Russian minds, along with a latent monarchism and paternalism.—
Nikita Petrov,
Foreign Affairs,
12 Dec. 2017
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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
Noun
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More than translation Spanish Jews who refused to convert in 1492, meanwhile, had been forced into exile and barred from the kingdom’s colonies.—
Flora Cassen,
The Conversation,
27 June 2025
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Over the course of 12 episodes and a sequel special, viewers see the decimation of a kingdom at the hand of a flesh-eating virus, and survivors can only fend off the undead with armor, swords, bows, and arrows.—
Wesley Stenzel,
EW.com,
26 June 2025
Noun
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Newsom is a potential Democratic Party presidential nominee in 2028. Democrats, partisan media and other critics of Trump are raising the spectre of diversion of our military from their proper constitutional roles, and even possible military dictatorship.—
Arthur Cyr,
Chicago Tribune,
18 June 2025
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This brings me back to the conclusion that the Venezuelan dictatorship — perhaps Latin America’s biggest potential winner of a global oil price hike — along with Colombia and Mexico may get, at best, a brief respite if the Iran war disrupts world oil shipping lanes.—
Andres Oppenheimer,
Miami Herald,
18 June 2025
Noun
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In the long term, the collapse of that pillar of regime stability could weaken the edifice of the Islamic republic itself.—
The Editors,
National Review,
24 June 2025
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Spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt insisted the president was simply asking if the Iranian people might want a new government, not suggesting the U.S. would lead a fight to overthrow the Islamic republic.—
Dave Goldiner,
New York Daily News,
23 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Theocracy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/theocracy. Accessed 4 Jul. 2025.
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