theocracy

noun

Definition of theocracynext
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

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 theocracy The Basij run a nationwide network of volunteers who maintain a presence in the streets, government offices and cultural centers, seeking to ensure loyalty and ideological purity for Iran’s theocracy. — Lee Keath, Fortune, 29 Aug. 2026 One of the things that was mentioned early on was a change in the regime there, an uprising by the Iranian people against this Islamic theocracy, which has long had control. — Dana Taylor, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2026 That truce, born from the scars of Europe’s bloody religious wars and America’s own colonial theocracies, was deemed unbreakable, but Falwell was making inroads toward prying it apart. — Literary Hub, 25 Aug. 2026 Its story takes place in an entirely different corner of Atwood’s fictional theocracy — the world of relatively privileged teen girls only gradually experiencing a feminist awakening. — Matt Minton, Variety, 12 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for theocracy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for theocracy
  1. monarchy
  2. democracy
  3. monarchism
  4. kingdom
  5. dictatorship
  6. republic
Noun
  • In contrast to other Gulf monarchies, especially Saudi Arabia, Qatar sees no threat in the Muslim Brotherhood, the political movement that spawned Hamas.
    — Eric Cortellessa, Time, 18 Oct. 2026
  • The Middle East has already experimented with Arab nationalism, state socialism, secular authoritarianism, monarchy, military rule, and political Islam.
    — Mansoor Moaddel, Foreign Affairs, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of monarchy
Noun
  • Fully 88 percent of respondents expressed favorable attitudes toward democracy, while 67 percent held negative views of a government based on sharia.
    — Mansoor Moaddel, Foreign Affairs, 15 Oct. 2026
  • The island, one of Africa’s most stable democracies, experienced similar unrest in 1999, when a popular musician’s death in police custody sparked days of rioting.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of democracy
Noun
  • 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, CBS News, 7 Dec. 2022
Definition of monarchism
Noun
  • At least 19 people have been killed, school classes have been canceled, and the disruption threatens the kingdom's ambitious plans to transform itself into a global hub for business, tourism and sports.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 17 Oct. 2026
  • The framing of the war has also shifted, from a US conflict to the kingdom’s.
    — Manal Albarakati, semafor.com, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of kingdom
Noun
  • The Iranian revolution, the North Korean dictatorship, the Palestinians held hostage by Hamas, the Lebanese held hostage by Hezbollah, the Taliban in Afganistan, The Chinese firewall, all of them share the same failure mode.
    — Stephen Messer, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Public executions are what oppressive dictatorships like Iran and Afghanistan do.
    — Connor Greene, Time, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of dictatorship
Noun
  • But Marxists who dreamed of a workers’ republic could not compete with the reformers in Congress who enacted such measures as a progressive income tax, antitrust legislation, and a ban on child labor.
    — Michael Kazin, The New York Review of Books, 17 Oct. 2026
  • The bet is that people who see the working version of a republic, a free press, and a scientific community will want to build one at home.
    — Stephen Messer, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of republic

Browse Nearby Words

theocracies
theocracy
theologies
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Cite this Entry

“Theocracy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/theocracy. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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