democracy
- 01 B1 Intermediate
a way of ruling a country where everyone has a say, usually by voting for people to represent them.
a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives.
Simple“In a healthy democracy, every citizen should have the right to vote in free elections.”
In context“The transition from an authoritarian regime to a stable democracy requires the establishment of robust legal institutions and a free press.”
Synonymsself governmentrepublicAntonyms - 02 B1 Intermediate
a specific country that uses a democratic system.
a state or nation governed under the principles of democracy.
Simple“Many young democracies in the region are still developing their legal systems.”
In context“The summit brought together leaders from several Western democracies to discuss international trade and security agreements.”
- 03 B2 Upper Intermediate
the belief that everyone in a group should be treated equally and have the same rights.
the practice or spirit of social equality and the absence of hereditary or arbitrary class distinctions.
Simple“The manager encouraged democracy in the office by letting everyone help make decisions.”
In context“The movement was less about specific legislation and more about fostering a sense of grassroots democracy within the local community.”
Antonymselitisminequality
“Although he loves to paint the world governing body as the ultimate democracy underpinned by a one-member, one-vote system, the reality is anything but.”
“Starting in 2016, we partnered with a team of researchers to collect data on 97 of the 103 democracies with more than 300,000 citizens .”
From Middle French democratie (French démocratie), from Medieval Latin dēmocratia, from Ancient Greek δημοκρᾰτῐ́ᾱ (dēmokrătĭ́ā). By surface analysis, demo- (“people”) + -cracy (“rule”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.