| Library / English Dictionary |
DEMOCRACY
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The doctrine that the numerical majority of an organized group can make decisions binding on the whole group
Synonyms:
democracy; majority rule
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("democracy" is a kind of...):
doctrine; ism; philosophical system; philosophy; school of thought (a belief (or system of beliefs) accepted as authoritative by some group or school)
Derivation:
democratic (representing or appealing to or adapted for the benefit of the people at large)
Sense 2
Meaning:
The political orientation of those who favor government by the people or by their elected representatives
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("democracy" is a kind of...):
ideology; political orientation; political theory (an orientation that characterizes the thinking of a group or nation)
Derivation:
democratic (characterized by or advocating or based upon the principles of democracy or social equality)
democratize (introduce democratic reforms; of nations)
democratize (become (more) democratic; of nations)
Sense 3
Meaning:
A political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them
Synonyms:
commonwealth; democracy; republic
Classified under:
Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects
Hypernyms ("democracy" is a kind of...):
form of government; political system (the members of a social organization who are in power)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "democracy"):
Weimar Republic (the German republic founded at Weimar in 1919)
parliamentary democracy (a democracy having a parliament)
Derivation:
Democratic (belong to or relating to the Democratic Party)
democratize (introduce democratic reforms; of nations)
democratize (become (more) democratic; of nations)
