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
Any sense that history trends in a general direction—toward freedom, perhaps, or toward rights, markets, secularism, or science—is confounded by a large, prosperous country becoming a hard-line semi-theocracy.
—
Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2025
More broadly, Iranian American artists yearn for a future when Iran isn’t automatically conflated in American popular culture with theocracy, militancy and radicalism.
—Dan Bilefsky, HollywoodReporter, 25 July 2025
King’s Chapel was established in 1683 as the first Anglican church in New England, which was settled starting in 1620 by dissenters who wanted a theocracy and religion shorn of folderol, cant, and the stink of popes and kings.
—Brian T. Allen, National Review, 19 July 2025
That sowed the seeds of 1979’s Islamic Revolution — and with it the anti-Western, repressive theocracy of Iran today.
—Alexander Smith, NBC news, 18 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for theocracy
Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2025
More broadly, Iranian American artists yearn for a future when Iran isn’t automatically conflated in American popular culture with theocracy, militancy and radicalism.
—Dan Bilefsky, HollywoodReporter, 25 July 2025
King’s Chapel was established in 1683 as the first Anglican church in New England, which was settled starting in 1620 by dissenters who wanted a theocracy and religion shorn of folderol, cant, and the stink of popes and kings.
—Brian T. Allen, National Review, 19 July 2025
That sowed the seeds of 1979’s Islamic Revolution — and with it the anti-Western, repressive theocracy of Iran today.
—Alexander Smith, NBC news, 18 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for theocracy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for theocracy
Noun
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But the monarchy under King Charles is doing what monarchy does – enduring, calmly above the fray.—
Jack Royston,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Oct. 2025
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That willingness to speak personally — and publicly — marks a turning point for the monarchy.—
Erin Hill,
PEOPLE,
7 Oct. 2025
Noun
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If companies from industrialized democracies end up buying Chinese credits to meet their own compliance obligations, Beijing will not only dominate the hardware of the energy transition but also help govern its financial infrastructure.—
Felicia Jackson,
Forbes.com,
3 Oct. 2025
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In other democracies, such inability to drive through legislation would most likely be met by a confidence vote, perhaps the ousting of the head of the party of government and a general election.—
Kate Plummer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
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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With war looming and chaos consuming the kingdom — drawing in the ruthless kings of other Scandinavian countries and even a powerful English ruler — the stage is set for a thundering, cataclysmic, compelling and utterly magical new Norse Saga.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
6 Oct. 2025
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Much of the land that became Ghana had been part of the Ashanti kingdom, but calling the new state Ashanti might have implied that descendants of these people enjoyed a privileged place.—
Kelefa Sanneh,
New Yorker,
6 Oct. 2025
Noun
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If the Supreme Court officially makes the chief executive a unitary executive, the advancement of the public good may depend on little more than the whims of the president, a state of affairs normally more characteristic of dictatorship than democracy.—
Graham G. Dodds,
The Conversation,
7 Oct. 2025
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The exec emphasized his excitement about being in the country a few months after Salles’ history-making drama about Brazil’s military dictatorship, a film that also scored nominations for best picture and actress for Fernanda Torres.—
Rafa Sales Ross,
Variety,
4 Oct. 2025
Noun
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In his mind, the army was not a caste apart but an instrument of the republic – an arena in which self-command and civic virtue were tested.—
Maurizio Valsania,
The Conversation,
2 Oct. 2025
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As in neighboring Ukraine and in Georgia, another former Soviet republic, the struggle between Russia’s steel embrace and a future closer to Europe will continue.—
Tim Lister,
CNN Money,
30 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Theocracy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/theocracy. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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