Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

theocracy

/θiːˈɒkɹəsi/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.59 in modern English

Syllables: theoc-ra-cy
IPA: /θiːˈɒkɹəsi/

19

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

4

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Government under the control of a state religion.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

Rule by a god.

Countable; Uncountable

Example Sentences

"Near-synonym: clericocracy"
"Tibet was a Buddhist theocracy ruled by the Dalai Lama prior to Chinese annexation."
"The Vatican City State is a sovereign city-state and a Christian theocracy ruled by the Pope."
"Lynch certainly seems to think to. “We feel liberated from the prism of the past,” he says. “Ireland was a theocracy.”"
"For quotations using this term, see Citations:theocracy."

Etymology

From 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..."

Word Breakdown

Prefix: theo
Suffix: cracy

Usage

Subject

Wiktionary places this term in Religion.

Inflected Forms

theocracies (plural)

Frequently Paired Words

theocrat theocratic

Synonyms

clericocracy

Homonyms

theocrasy

Rhymes With

democracy hypocrisy bureaucracy aristocracy autocracy

Questions

How do you pronounce theocracy?: The recorded pronunciation is /θiːˈɒkɹəsi/.
What does theocracy mean?: Government under the control of a state religion.
Where does theocracy come from?: From 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..."

How to pronounce theocracy

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