ENGLISH
REFERENCE

democratic

adj.
US //ˌdɛməˈkɹætɪk// UK //dˌɛməkɹˈætɪk// demo·crat·ic
  1. 1 government by the people (adj.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate Law

    relating to a system of government where citizens vote to choose their leaders.

    pertaining to or based on the principles of democracy, specifically a system of government by the whole population through elected representatives.

    Example

    The country held its first democratic elections after many years of military rule.

    Example

    The transition to a fully democratic system required significant constitutional reforms to ensure that every citizen's vote carried equal weight.
  2. 2 social equality (adj.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate

    treating everyone as equal and giving everyone the same rights.

    characterised by or favouring social equality and egalitarianism within a group or organisation.

    Example

    The manager has a very democratic style and listens to everyone's ideas.

    Example

    The club maintains a democratic structure where even the newest members have a voice in deciding the annual budget.
Show 1 more senseShow fewer
  1. 3 US political party (adj.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate American English Politics

    relating to the Democratic Party in the United States.

    pertaining to or supporting the Democratic Party, one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States.

    Example

    She has been a supporter of Democratic candidates since she was a student.

    Example

    The senator outlined the Democratic platform on healthcare during the televised debate last night.

    Usage

    Often capitalised as 'Democratic' when referring specifically to the American political party.
Origin

From Middle French democratique (“pertaining to democracy, democratic”) (modern French démocratique), and its etymon Late Latin democraticus (“pertaining to democracy, democratic; democrat”), from Ancient Greek δημοκρᾰτῐκός (dēmokrătĭkós, “of or for democracy; favouring or suited for democracy”), from δημοκρᾰτῐ́ᾱ (dēmokrătĭ́ā, “democracy”) + -ῐκός (-ĭkós, suffix with the sense ‘of or pertaining’ to forming adjectives). Δημοκρᾰτῐ́ᾱ (Dēmokrătĭ́ā) is derived from δῆμος (dêmos, “the common people; free citizens, sovereign people; popular assembly; popular government, democracy”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European deh₂- (“to divide; to share”)) + -κρᾰτῐ́ᾱ (-krătĭ́ā, suffix meaning ‘government; rule’) (from κρᾰ́τος (krắtos, “might, strength; dominion, power”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European kret- (“insight, intelligence; strength”)) + -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā, suffix forming feminine abstract nouns)). By surface analysis, demo- + -cratic or democrat + -ic.

Word family

© 2026 English Reference