theocracy
Government under the control of a state religionGovernment under the control of a state religion.
» Afghanistan has become a terrible repressive theocracy.
Meaning
2 senses(countable, uncountable)Government under the control of a state religion.
Near-synonym: clericocracy
Tibet was a Buddhist theocracy ruled by the Dalai Lama prior to Chinese annexation.
Theokratie, Gottesstaat, Kirchenstaat
теокра́тияteokrátija, церко́вное госуда́рствоcerkóvnoje gosudárstvo
теокра́тіяteokrátija
(countable, uncountable)Rule by a god.
For quotations using this term, see Citations:theocracy.
- the belief in government by divine guidance
- a political unit governed by a deity (or by officials thought to be divinely guided)
Examples
12 sentencesAfghanistan has become a terrible repressive theocracy.
This country is headed toward a fascist theocracy.
A theocracy engulfed the supernation and authorities forbade spaceflight for generations.
Algeria isn't a theocracy.
Algeria is not a theocracy.
Translations
9 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
By meaning 1
Origin
From theo- + -cracy, originally from Ancient Greek θεοκρατία (theokratía, “rule of (a) GodFrom theo- + -cracy, originally from Ancient Greek θεοκρατία (theokratía, “rule of (a) God”), a term coined in the 1st century by Josephus (Against Apion 2.17) in reference to the ancient Israelite polity under the Mosaic covenant. Attested in English from the 1620s, first by John Donne in A Sermon upon the fifth of November 1622. being the Anniversary celebration of our Deliverance from the Powder Treason: "The Jews were onely under a Theocratie, an immediate government of God..."
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Forms
plural: theocracies| Singular | theocracy |
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| Plural | theocracies |
regular
Synonyms
1 synonymsWord family
2 related wordsLessons for this word
1 lessons- A1Countable and uncountable nouns — Because it can be uncountable