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 political class devoted to maintaining Iran’s Shiite theocracy remains intact. — Jon Gambrell, Chicago Tribune, 8 Apr. 2026 The agreement is meant to provide a meaningful truce in a monthslong war that has killed thousands across the Middle East, including the top leaders of Iran’s theocracy, and raised the prices of fuel, food and other basic goods far beyond the region. — ABC News, 16 June 2026 The newly elevated leaders, including Ghalibaf, owe their power to the same authoritarian theocracy that sustained the Ayatollah’s regime. — Sudarsan Raghavan, New Yorker, 16 Apr. 2026 The country’s theocracy expects to see millions flood the streets of the capital beginning Saturday in scenes reminiscent of the burial of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989. — Nasser Karimi, Los Angeles Times, 3 July 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
  • The Declaration of Independence was about severing the chains of a British monarchy and creating a government powered by the people with checks and balances.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 6 July 2026
  • This swept away Iran’s monarchy and birthed a state that is part theocracy, part republic, with a handful of semi-democratic institutions swaddled by a system that is ultimately clerical.
    — Xiaoqian Lin, CNN Money, 6 July 2026
Definition of monarchy
Noun
  • Divisions are part of the price of democracy, argued Lincoln author and University of Florida professor Allen Guelzo.
    — Chris Kenning, USA Today, 2 July 2026
  • The birthright citizenship ruling was a win for democracy — and a warning about erasing history, argues columnist Anita Chabria.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 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
  • Riyadh's exports over the two weeks to July 2 were more than double the 15 million barrels the kingdom shipped through the strait from March 9 through June 17.
    — Azhar Sukri, CNBC, 4 July 2026
  • Tipu’s kingdom finally fell in 1799, when British and allied forces overwhelmed his fortress at Seringapatam, a few hours’ drive from present-day Bangalore.
    — Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 2 July 2026
Definition of kingdom
Noun
  • His story stretches beyond sports, touching one of Haiti’s many mysteries of Haiti’s brutal Duvalier dictatorship and reflecting on the outsize role Haitians have long played in shaping American history.
    — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 1 July 2026
  • Virtually all contemporary dictatorships are cosplay democracies with term limits, elections, and legislatures—the few ruling, as Amos Perlmutter put it, in the name of the many.
    — Simon Sebag Montefiore, The Atlantic, 28 June 2026
Definition of dictatorship
Noun
  • This swept away Iran’s monarchy and birthed a state that is part theocracy, part republic, with a handful of semi-democratic institutions swaddled by a system that is ultimately clerical.
    — Xiaoqian Lin, CNN Money, 6 July 2026
  • On America’s 250th, the president has elevated some important debates about the mechanics of running a self-governing republic.
    — Susan Shelley, Oc Register, 5 July 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 8 Jul. 2026.

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Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about theocracy

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