democracy

noun

1. (uncountable)Rule by the people, especially as a form of government; either directly or through elected representatives (representative democracy).

   “And the essential value and power of Democracy consists in this,—that it combines, as far as possible, power and organization ; THE SPIRIT, MANHOOD, is at one with THE BODY, ORGANIZATION. [....] Democracy is Government by the People.”

   “The period, that is, which marks the transition from absolutism or aristocracy to democracy will mark also the transition from absolutist or autocratic methods of nomination to democratic methods.”

   “A century ago there was in the Old World only one tiny spot in which the working of democracy could be studied. A few of the ancient rural cantons of Switzerland had recovered their freedom after the fall of Napoleon, and were governing themselves as they had done from the earlier Middle Ages[...]. Nowhere else in Europe did the people rule.”

   “Everyone who wanted to speak did so. It was democracy in its purest form.”

   “On this day in 1977, Taiwan witnessed a watershed moment in its march to democracy: the Chungli Incident. Violence broke out on the night of the largest-yet elections in the country’s history. Some 10,000 people took to the streets in protest following reports of election fraud on the part of the ruling Kuomintang.”

2. (countable)A government under the direct or representative rule of the people of its jurisdiction.

   “Of course, the Russians think it is something else because they say the Russians have a democracy and it is plain that their government is not what the Americans regard as a democracy.”

   “Since the wisest and most moral would not necessarily be the choice of the majority of people, Plato's Republic is not a democracy.”

   “In 1900 not a single country had what we would today consider a democracy: a government created by elections in which every adult citizen could vote.”

3. (countable)A state with a democratic system of government.

   “Some countries which were originally monarchies, like the UK, have maintained their status as monarchies whilst also becoming democracies in the modern era; others, like France, completely disposed of their monarchies when they became democracies.”

   “After almost four decades of authoritarian rule, South Africa became a democracy in April 1994.”

   “The United States was founded as a republic, not a democracy.”

   “Israel is not a democracy, as these elections proved once again. Democracy is the rule of the people, not the rule of one people over another.”

   “Biden led a virtual summit event in Washington focused on democracy delivering on global challenges, calling on democracies to continue to stand together amid global challenges.”

4. (uncountable)Belief in political freedom and equality; the "spirit of democracy".

   “As states of the human spirit democracy, righteousness, and faith have much in common and may be cultivated by the same means...”

   “It must further be admitted that he provided a successful interpretation of democracy in its philosophic aspects when he conceived democracy as a general outlook on the universe... In Bakunin's conception of democracy as religious in character we trace the influence of French socialism.”

   “The spirit of democracy means, above all, liberty of choice for human beings... democracy, in both its individual and collective forms, is the main engine of the eternal human striving for justice and prosperity.”

name

1. (US, obsolete)The Democratic Party.

   “I so adopt it because it furnishes a precise and an agreed starting point for a discussion between Republicans and that wing of the Democracy headed by Senator Douglas.”