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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Recent Examples of theocracy
Many women could be seen going about their day without wearing the theocracy’s mandatory head covering, the enforcement of which has eased in recent years.
—
Bassem Mroue, Los Angeles Times, 6 Apr. 2026
By definition, regime change is systemic change – something that has yet to be seen in the Islamic Republic, which remains under the same authoritarian theocracy that has been in place since the Iranian Revolution in 1979.
—Lauren Kent, CNN Money, 3 Apr. 2026
As such, the system that initially emerged in 1979 was neither a pure theocracy nor a conventional republic.
—Roxane Razavi, The Conversation, 2 Apr. 2026
Trump’s motivation for entering the war has been scattered, mostly bouncing between overthrowing Iran’s totalitarian theocracy and eliminating the nation’s nuclear capability.
—Jack Dunn, Variety, 2 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for theocracy
Bassem Mroue, Los Angeles Times, 6 Apr. 2026
By definition, regime change is systemic change – something that has yet to be seen in the Islamic Republic, which remains under the same authoritarian theocracy that has been in place since the Iranian Revolution in 1979.
—Lauren Kent, CNN Money, 3 Apr. 2026
As such, the system that initially emerged in 1979 was neither a pure theocracy nor a conventional republic.
—Roxane Razavi, The Conversation, 2 Apr. 2026
Trump’s motivation for entering the war has been scattered, mostly bouncing between overthrowing Iran’s totalitarian theocracy and eliminating the nation’s nuclear capability.
—Jack Dunn, Variety, 2 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for theocracy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for theocracy
Noun
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Previously, the British monarchy had operated under male-preference primogeniture, meaning that female siblings fell behind their male siblings in the line of succession, regardless of birth order.—
Meredith Kile,
PEOPLE,
14 May 2026
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Back in London, father-in-law King Charles III, who is also undergoing cancer treatment, was carrying out one of the monarchy's grandest ceremonial duties on Wednesday, delivering a landmark speech for the formal opening of a new session of the British Parliament.—
Elena Giuliano,
CBS News,
13 May 2026
Noun
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The lack of competition is bad for democracy, experts say.—
Ashley Wu,
New York Times,
18 May 2026
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In the West, nation-states produced an astonishing expansion of equality, democracy and material security.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 May 2026
Noun
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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
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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,
CBS News,
7 Dec. 2022
Noun
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But the setting isn’t, say, a fairy tale village or a mermaid kingdom under the sea, to point at two Disney classics the film gives winking reference to.—
Wilson Chapman,
IndieWire,
15 May 2026
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Absolute kingdoms of the '90s and early-2000s.—
Zach Dean OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
15 May 2026
Noun
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The filmmaker explores how Inés’ coming of age mirrors the lingering wounds of Chile’s political transition to democracy from the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet – a theme at the heart of Martelli’s feature debut Chile ’76, which premiered in the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
12 May 2026
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Many had argued that the banner, which largely meditates on the violence of the Suharto dictatorship in Indonesia, contained antisemitic caricatures.—
Harrison Jacobs,
ARTnews.com,
12 May 2026
Noun
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Nothing could illustrate the absurdity of 2026 quite like an upcoming concert by Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, in a former Soviet republic being produced by Live Nation Israel.—
Shirley Halperin,
Rolling Stone,
14 May 2026
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Perhaps not coincidentally, Russia invaded the former Soviet republic of Georgia later that year.—
Anne Applebaum,
The Atlantic,
11 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Theocracy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/theocracy. Accessed 18 May. 2026.
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